


Six Orange Roses

by xoutherngothic (Dawn_Blossom)



Category: Hustle Cat
Genre: (Avery being the POV character), Cat Cursed Nacht, Fun With Flower Symbolism (in the chapter titles), M/M, Other, POV First Person, Post-Canon, Watch Me Just Make Stuff Up About Magic, tbh Nacht makes a better cat than a human
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2017-12-30
Packaged: 2019-02-23 20:22:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 31,799
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13197858
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawn_Blossom/pseuds/xoutherngothic
Summary: When Nacht shows back up a year after Graves cursed him, he's... still a cat. Despite his past misdeeds, Graves offers him protection.And Avery, unfortunately, gets stuck with Nacht for a roommate.But now that Nacht seems to have lost his drive for destruction, is it possible that Avery could get along with him?





	1. Queen Anne's Lace

**Author's Note:**

> ~~*walks into the fandom 2 years late with Starbucks* wait what do you mean we already have coffee here~~
> 
>  
> 
> Hi I'm Dawn and I accidentally fell in love with Nacht. And Graves... And Nacht/Graves... (Is there a ship name for them? Gracht? Naves? Personally I've been calling it xoutherngothic in my head, hence my pseud here)
> 
> I'm honestly a little surprised nobody had written the basic idea behind this fic before me (a shame, really, because now I have to inflict MY version on you all). I mean, come on, surely there are other people who want to see cat!Nacht? Surely there are some people in the world who would be interested in future!Nacht/Graves? (The few fics and art I've seen have all been past!Nacht/Graves... which only hurts me MORE ;n;)
> 
> Anyway, I've been working on it a lot for the past month (save for the two weeks I had finals... which were painful). I tried not to blatantly contradict canon, but considering that I marathoned the game in 12 hours and then spent the rest of my time working on this... well, if I got something wrong, it's probably because I forgot.
> 
> One more important thing before I stop rambling and let you read: this fic is post-Graves's route, BUT Avery and Graves did not get together. Instead, Avery and Finley started dating.

A Cat’s Paw is a nice, peaceful place that I’ve been working at for a little over a year.

“Ouch! Hey, Bramblepelt, cut it out with the claws! You’re not even a real warrior cat!” I yelp as broad-shouldered brown tabby attacks my leg.

Okay, so it’s _mostly_ peaceful,

“Awwww, Avery, don’t hurt his feelings!” Finley says, laughing. “You’re a warrior at heart, aren’t you, Bramblepelt.”

“Traitor,” I say as I glare at both my girlfriend and the ball of fur that’s now purring in her arms.

Despite my words, I can’t help but smile as Finley presses a kiss to my cheek. Technically, we’re still on duty right now, but, well, it’s almost closing time, and there’s nobody here, anyway.

“Hey, we aren’t paying you two to flirt!” Reese yells from the top of the stairs.

“ _You_ aren’t paying us at all!” I break away from Finley to shout back. “And I don’t hear Graves complaining!”

Graves really doesn’t say much at all these days. He’s always nice to all of us and everything, but if the Cat’s Paw employees are a family (and I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think of us as one), he’s definitely the weird uncle. Weird but fun. Although, ever since the “Rust Incident” with Nacht, he’s looked a little worse for wear. I wonder if there are side effects to being rusted?

But then again, I’m actually the only one who didn’t turn a little rusty back then, but nobody else seems to have any long-lasting problems. Maybe it’s not about the rust at all, and Graves’s age is just catching up with him. He’s, like, 40 now. I would say it’s about time for him to have a midlife crisis, except it’s hard to relive the days of your youth when you literally never left your goth phase! The other day I saw him walk out of his apartment with an outfit I swear he must have got at Hot Topic. I didn’t exactly know how to tell him he looked like a meme, but Finley and I got a kick out of calling him Vampire Potter for the rest of the day.

“It’s okay, sweetheart. I’ll go ahead and clean up here, if you want to go down and help Hayes in the kitchen,” Finley says.

“He doesn’t need my help! He can just write cleanliness into existence if he wants to.” I pout a little to get Finley to ruffle my hair, but I don’t seriously resist the suggestion. Everybody’s getting really good at magic now, and Hayes’s power is incredibly cool, but I know he’s kind of wary about using it, especially for mundane things like doing dishes.

I, on the other hand, have no problem using my trash magic to make the garbage take itself out.

“Should I wait for you when I’m done?” Finley asks just before I head to the kitchen. “You can come over tonight and help me with my new Jelly Donut video if you want!”

Okay, so don’t get me wrong, I love everything about Finley, including her cat form, and it’s not like I haven’t had fun helping her as Jelly Donut before… but when Finley says she wants me to help her with a Jelly Donut video, it’s not a pretext. We really do spend the whole night balancing donuts on her little cat head! No snuggling or anything! Not even a little kissing! I’m totally impressed by her dedication, but come on, why invite someone over if you’re just going to be a cat all night? It’s not like I’m even good at taking photos or videos or anything (I mean, my Instagram’s doing _pretty_ okay, but I’m not a star like Finley). And even though she successfully convinced me to practice transforming into a cat with her, I’m a trash witch at heart, and it apparently, uh, manifests in the form of nasty matted fur. No way am I going on camera with Jelly Donut like that!

“Nah, I haven’t given Mochi any can food all week, so to make it up to him, I’m gonna order a pizza and pretend I don’t notice him sneaking cheese off of it,” I say as Finley’s nose crinkles up a little in disgust.

“Okay, but don’t expect me to save any donuts for you,” Finley says. She’s bluffing, though. She always saves me the strawberry donuts, because she’s sweet like that. I think Mason has started giving her more of the strawberry ones, too, although I’m still not sure if she’s doing it just to be nice or if she’s trying to keep me from staring lustfully at the café’s donuts all day.

“Have fun, babe! Don’t stay up too late!” I say cheerfully, blowing her a kiss. 

By the time I finish helping Hayes put away the dishes and magic the building’s trash away, Finley and Reese have already left. I wait for Hayes to leave before me so I can lock up, and in the meantime, I watch in amusement as Graves walks down, up, and back down the stairs in the span of maybe 30 seconds.

“Need something, boss?” I call out to him.

He startles, but then shoots me a smile. It’s friendly, but somehow it just makes his entire face look even more tired. I guess it might be weird to feel protective over someone so much older than you, but seeing him like this makes me want to do anything to help him. I just don’t know what. He’s so mysterious and never talks about his problems.

“I just thought I would get some coffee,” Graves answers.

“Don’t you have a fancy coffee maker in your apartment?” I ask, even though I know I’m right. I’ve only been up there a few times since the Rust Incident, but my eyes are always drawn to what appears to be the Most Complicated Coffee Machine In The World, and it’s pretty much the antithesis of trash, so I kinda feel a little uneasy around it. It’s opposed to my nature or something.

“Yes, I know,” Graves agrees. “I thought I’d go back up, but then I thought, since I’m already down here, I might as well go all the way.”

I don’t say anything for a moment, and we lapse into silence. 

It’s super awkward.

“Well, okay, I was just leaving,” I say, reaching for my key. I somehow manage to drop it three times in the process, causing all the keys on my keychain to jingle loudly. Great. “Yeah, so uh, have a nice drink! See you tomorrow!”

I get myself out of the café before I have too much time to berate myself for that “nice drink” line. What the hell was that, Avery? That’s not a normal way to say goodnight!

It takes me two minutes to realize that I’ve left something very important at work. Namely, my hoodie. It wasn’t very cold outside when I was walking there this morning, but the sun was out then. Now that it’s after dark, it’s way colder, and I really miss my hoodie’s warm, comforting softness. Stupid Graves just had to be all weird and make me forget things!

I duck into an alley to ponder my options. I can go back for my hoodie, but then I might have to talk to Graves again, and I think I’ve made enough of a fool of myself tonight. But if I just go home, then what am I going to wear tomorrow? Do I even have any other jackets? I mean this hoodie would be my soulmate if it had a soul to speak of, so I never felt the need to look at any other, lesser hoodies out there.

“I guessss I have to go back,” I whine to myself. Whining never actually helps in any situation, but it sure feels good to do.

“You goin’ back to Graves, kitten?” someone says behind me. 

My blood runs cold. I know that voice.

“Nacht,” I growl. 

What the hell is _he_ doing here? We beat him! He shouldn’t be bothering us anymore!

I do a 360 degree turn around the alley, but I don’t see Nacht, which is a little weird, because he’s almost as tall as Graves and isn’t really that stealthy. I even look up at the rooftops to see if he’s up there like some kind of monstrous holiday decoration, but no luck..

“Down here,” Nacht growls, sounding incredibly unamused. I look down at my feet, where a bengal cat is giving me a death glare.

“Oh my god…” I whisper with dawning realization. “You couldn’t break the curse. Graves _did_ beat you.”

“Graves is bein’ an asshole,” Nacht growls. “Tells me to leave and figure it out myself. Ain’t never understood nothin’ that comes outta his mouth. S’all a buncha crap. He’s always actin’ like he’s bein’ all nice but he doesn’t even give a shit”

“That’s not true,” I protest. 

Graves does so much to help me and everyone else with our magic, and also just with our life problems. He’s an incredibly caring person!

“He doesn’t like you because you tried to kill him!” I continue.

“You don’t know nothin’ ‘bout Graves,” Naht responds, shaking his head. “How’re ya’ll doin’ these days, huh? He winin’ and dinin’ ya all proper? Don’t let him fool ya, kitten; he doesn’t need ya..”

Does Nacht sound bitter? Hold on, wining and dining?

“Wait, wait, wait,” I say, holding up a hand. “You don’t… You don’t think we’re dating do you? No, no, we’re… No.”

Graves is kinda loveable, but in an adorable dorky way. Not in a dateable way.

“Dump ya already, did he?” Nacht smirks. “No surprise. You ain’t his type.”

“No, he didn’t dump me,,” I insist. “ And look, I don’t want anything to do with your lover’s spat boohoo crap, got it? Leave us all alone! Especially Graves! He’s got enough to deal with without you bothering him, too!”

Nacht scoffs. How a cat manages to scoff, I don’t know, but he does it.

“What’s the most powerful witch in the city gotta worry about? He banished the Rust Witch; ain’t nobody gonna challenge him after that.”

I resist the urge to point out that the Rust Witch clearly wasn’t banished because he’s _right here._ Instead, I grit my teeth and take a few steps down the alley. I’ll just go back to my apartment. Maybe this will all be a bad dream in the morning.

I hear pawsteps follow. With my magic, I force a trashcan to spill its contents behind me. It’s as clear of “don’t cross” line as I can make right now.

The pawsteps do not stop.

With a heavy sigh, I turn around and level Nacht with my most intense glare. Nacht stares back, unblinking. Isn’t that a challenge in cat language or something? Am I going to have to fight him? Can I win like this? 

“Don’t you dare follow me home,” I hiss angrily. “Or I’ll throw you in the fucking trash.”

Ugh, was that really the best I could come up with? Nacht looks more amused than threatened.

“What’s the big deal? I already know where ya live.”

“You creep!” I exclaim. I was never entirely sure how much he had trailed me last year, but I guess that answers that question. Forget walking away calmly, I need to get out of here right now! Immediately, I break into a run. I pull out my phone, but I’m not sure who to call. The police won’t pick up a cat. Finley would be over here in an instant, but her #reported power will do about as much good as the police would. I could call Graves, I guess, but…

“Wait!” Nacht calls after me. I don’t know why I stop. Maybe it’s the fear in his voice. After everything this jerk has done, I think he deserves to be terrified out of his mind..

“What?” I snap.

“I just wanna see Graves,” he says in such a pathetic tone that I can hardly believe this is the same man who almost killed all of us…

I can _hardly_ believe it. I definitely still believe it. I can remember that awful moment like it was yesterday, after all.

“And he doesn’t want to see you,” I say coldly. “Didn’t he make that clear last time?”

Nacht’s fur bristles.

“I was a different person last time!” he insists. “I dunno what came over me, but it made me real stupid! I was all murder-y and stuff, but I ain’t like that no more. Even killin’ birds with these claws don’t make me feel good.. C’mon, kitten, just take me to him for a li’l bit. Please?”

I’m all ready to deny his request when the unexpected civility throws me off. I’m so shocked to hear that word come out of his mouth that I splutter a bit. It’s gross, but also a little satisfying to see a drop of saliva splash onto Nacht’s face. He deserves it! But… But…

“Say that again!” I demand.

Nacht looks up at me in confusion.

“I said I was a different person last time. I dunno what came over me, but—”

“No, I _heard_ you,” I interrupt. I didn’t want a literal repeat. “I meant the part where you said ‘please’! You’re not at all the type to be polite!”

“I guess not,” Nacht says, shrugging about as well as a cat can. “Graves always said I was—what’s a long-ass word for selfish? But I know when I gotta get help. So, will ya do it?”

“Why should I?” I ask. “You _know_ where he lives. If you want to bother Graves, I can’t actually stop you, much as I’d like to. Why are you coming to me?”

Is this a trap or something? But Nacht just dips his head.

He grumbles something that sounds a lot like he’s coughing up a hairball.

“Yeah… You’re going to have to say that again…” 

“I already tried goin’ by,” Nacht mutters more clearly. “But I can’t get the door open like this. Couldn’t get Graves’s attention, either.”

I snort a little. Did he seriously come all this way to get me to open a door for him? Isn’t that taking the role of a cat a little too seriously?

“Just come back in the morning like a normal person,” I say. “Nobody wants to deal with you this late, anyway.”

I know I don’t.

“I wanna talk to Graves alone, not make a scene,” Nacht says, which is awfully funny considering _the huge scene he made last time._

But also, he’s kind of got a point. If Mason sees Nacht when she comes in early, we’ll be having cat soup as the special of the day (the creepiness of serving up a cat at a cat café notwithstanding). Same goes if Landry and Reese see him. Hayes wouldn’t hurt him immediately, but only because he basically has the power to ruin Nacht with a single word and can therefore afford to wait. And Finley’s #blocked spell might block him from the entire premises, for all we know.

“Well, maybe if you didn’t try to kill us, you wouldn’t be in this awkward situation right now,” I point out. I mean, he literally wouldn’t be in this situation because he wouldn’t be a cat, but he also wouldn’t have to worry about making a scene, because we wouldn’t all hate his guts.

“I’m real sorry ‘bout that,” Nacht says, once again to my surprise. He doesn’t even sound sarcastic. “Y’all were just with me at a bad time. Wouldn’t do that to ya now, I swear.”

I’m probably really stupid to do this, but I believe him. Nacht is not exactly the kind of company I’d like to have around, but he isn’t acting the same as he was before.I mean, _not_ having murderous intent is the most _minimal_ standard you could possibly hold someone to… I definitely don’t trust him. But...

“I want you to apologize to Graves,” I say. “He’s the one you were after. The rest of us were just protecting him. So apologizing to me won’t do you any good. It has to be him.”

Nacht looks at me with eyes that gleam.

“Does that mean you’re takin’ me to see him?” he asks.

“Yeah,” I agree. “But I’m only going to let you in if he says it’s okay. Otherwise, you’re out of here, yeah?”

Nacht makes a noise that sounds an awful lot like a purr.

“I knew ya’d come around, kitten,” he says. I roll my eyes and take it as the “thank you” I’m sure he was too proud to say. I mean, he already managed “please” and “I’m sorry,” so he’s probably used up all of his Decency Points for this encounter..

“I have to get my hoodie, anyway,” I say. I don’t have to act gracious, either.

I scoop Nacht up so we can travel faster, and his yelp of protest is hilarious. And I’d be lying if I said I didn’t appreciate his warm fur just a little bit. It’s cold outside and I left my poor hoodie! A cat’s a cat, even if he’s actually a 40-year old witch.

“Uh-uh. Put me down right now. I don’t cuddle,” Nacht complains.

“Consider this a step in atoning for your sins,” I deadpan.

“I’m already a cat!” Nacht insists. “I’m being punished enough!”

“Uh, nope, doesn’t count. You’d be a human if you’d stayed away from us like Graves told you to.”

No matter how I look at it, Nacht brought everything on himself. 

“Guess I shouldn’ta expected ya to get it…” Nacht mutters.

I’d make a snarky reply to that, except we’re already at the café, so instead, I plop Nacht down on the ground outside.

“Don’t try anything funny,” I warn.

As I enter the cafe, locking the door behind me just to be safe, the first thing I do is grab my hoodie, which lies innocently in a chair.

“Oh, baby, I’ve missed you!” I exclaim, hugging it to my chest. “You won’t believe what I’ve had to deal with since I last saw you!”

Yeah, I’m talking to my clothing. That’s probably a bad sign or something, but in my defense, this is about all the comfort I’m going to get right now.

Now comes the hard part. Talking to Graves. Man, he really has been down lately… Ugh, what am I doing, springing Nacht on him like this?

But then again, isn’t it better this way? At least I can warn him. It would be a lot worse if Nacht just wandered around and… ambushed him while grocery shopping or something. Yeah. I’m doing the right thing.

… So why is it so hard to make myself enter his apartment?

I knock on his door, hoping he’ll answer it and invite me in and I won’t have to be both an intruder _and_ a bearer of bad news. He was getting coffee, right? So he should be wide awake, right?

But I get no answer. Oh, no, what if he’s not there at all? It’s not like I now his schedule or anything! I’m pretty sure his schedule is just “I do what I want” written on a piece of paper, anyway.

I push my way into the room. To my surprise, Graves _is_ there, sitting on the couch, with a cup of coffee on the table… but he’s fast asleep.

Aw, crap.

“You big dummy, you’re gonna get a crick in your neck if you sleep like that,” I whisper as I try to maneuver him into a better position. I try my best not to wake him up, but obviously it’s not good enough, because his eyes begin to flutter open.

“Ah… Avery…” he murmurs, still half-asleep. “You all can have today off if you want…”

“Uh… Graves, today’s shift is already over. It’s still nighttime.”

Does he think it’s morning already? I guess that’s what I get for interrupting his rest, but come on, shouldn’t he be able to tell the difference between 10 minutes of sleep and 10 hours?

“Hmm? It’s… Oh.” Graves’s eyes widen, and he suddenly bolts upward. “Forgive me. I seem to have fallen into unanticipated slumber.” He smiles at me. “Did you need something, Avery?”

Ohhh boy. Oh boy oh boy oh boy. 

I shove his previously abandoned coffee cup into his hands.

“Okay, so first, you’re going to want to chug that,” I say. “Like, ‘Shots! Shots!’”

Graves gives me a confused look as he sets the cup back down on the table. 

“I’ll keep your suggestion in mind,” he says, “but why don’t you tell me what’s wrong?”

“Yeah… That sounded really suspicious, didn’t it?”

I sigh. Well, here goes nothing, I guess.

“So, uh, I was walking home, and… I ran into someone… It’s Nacht and he’s outside and he wants to see you,” I say. My words kind of run together at the end, but I think Graves gets the idea, anyway, because his eyes widen.

“Nacht is here?” He practically jumps to his feet. “Did he break the curse?”

Does he sound… hopeful? Okay, uh, that’s _not_ the reaction I was expecting.

“No, he’s here as a cat,” I say. It makes Graves deflate a little, and I can’t help but feel kind of guilty even though I didn’t even do anything.

“I see. That’s how it is,” Graves says, sitting back down on the couch with a sigh. “I don’t know why I expected anything else. He never changes.”

He puts his cup to his lips it and drains it in a single long swig. Dang. Figures that Graves could make chugging coffee look elegant.

“Uh, he’d _better_ be here to apologize,” I say. “That’s the only reason I brought him here at all. That, and he doesn’t seem that dangerous… Uh, he isn’t, right? He didn’t try to kill me or anything…”

“Fear not, Avery. I do not believe he can harm you in that form,” Graves assures me. “That being said, I’d like you to bring him inside. If he bears any ill will, the wards will bar his entry.”

“Yeah, okay,” I agree. I’d forgotten about the wards. Nobody has threatened us lately, so it’s not like we’ve needed to hide behind them. But if Nacht’s out for blood, those things will kick his furry ass out.

“Thank you. Please bring him up,” Graves says as he stands. He heads off into his room without sparing a second glance. Hesitantly, I head back into the café. I can see Nacht standing in front of the entrance, appearing to the rest of the world as nothing more than a bedraggled stray.

“Okay, come in,” I say as I push the door open. “If you can.”

Slowly, Nacht puts one paw over the threshold, then another, and another, and then he’s inside. I can’t tell if I’m surprised or not… I guess not really, after everything else that’s happened tonight. But I’m relieved, in a way. It’s good if there’s a little less evil in the world.

“‘Kay, where is he?” Nacht demands, jumping up onto the counter like he owns the place. “Graves! Graves, ya asshole, come ‘n’ see me!”

Geez, he yowls as bad as a cat. Even if he’s not evil, he sure is irritating.

“Will you shut up?” I whisper-shout. “You’re going to stir up the cats!”

I can see Valentine twitching in the corner. Dang it, if one of them gets agitated, it’s only a matter of time before all cat hell breaks loose. And I’m the only employee who’s here to deal with it!

“We’re going to his apartment,” I continue, swatting Nacht off the counter. “And you’d better be on your best behavior. I’m not above throwing you out the window.”

“If you could catch me,” Nacht mocks, but he obligingly follows me up the stairs.

I knock on Graves’s door again, but when I don’t get an answer, I go ahead and enter. Graves isn’t sitting on the couch, so I guess he’s probably still in his room.

Nacht enters after me, and I watch as his head swivels around the room. His ears and whiskers twitch.

“Hey, what kinda joke are ya playin’?” he asks. “This can’t be Graves’s place. Ain’t even a single skeleton up here.”

Should I tell him that he keeps those in the basement? I’m considering it, but before I can make up my mind, Graves comes out.

“My employees use this area for rest,” he says calmly. “My preferred decor was resulting in nightmares, or so I was told.”

Holy shit, did Graves get dressed up for this? Well, not _dressed up,_ exactly. I mean, he looks as goth as always (maybe even a little more; it’s hard to say), but he’s not in the same sleep-wrinkled clothing he was in just a few minutes ago. And he’s got makeup on! It’s not the kind of dark, heavy makeup I would expect him to like, but he’s definitely got something on his face. You can’t even tell that he had dark circles under his eyes before! 

I need to get him to teach me how to clean up like that. Like, there are some occasions when I _don’t_ want to look like a garbage-eating raccoon that just crawled out of a hole, you feel me?

But Nacht isn’t impressed. Without a word, he launches himself at Graves. My jaw drops open as this asshole just climbs my boss like a tree and swats at his head.

“Hey! What did I tell you, furball?” I shout. “That’s not behaving!”

I look around the room for something I can use to stop him. Damn it, why does Graves have to keep this place so clean all the time? There’s no trash in here!

Graves seems to have the situation under control, though. With a strong blow from his arm, he knocks Nacht onto the couch.

For a moment, they stare at each other. Eventually, Graves breaks the silence.

“Why have you come here, Nacht?” he says so coolly that I shiver a little. I’m so used to Graves being a dork that this icy Graves comes as a huge shock.

“You didn’t think a curse was gonna keep me away, did ya?” Nacht asks. “You can’t make me do nothin’!”

“I am well aware of that,” Graves agrees, shrugging as he takes a seat beside Nacht. “You never listen to me, despite it being to your detriment. Why, if you’d listened to me, you’d have broken the curse already. It’s so remarkably simple.”

“If ya’d stop speakin’ in riddles, maybe I would,” Nacht grumbles, but the heat in his voice has died off. He steps a little closer to Graves, putting a paw on his knee. “Look, I came all this way just t’see you. I… I don’t wanna fight or nothin’. I’m real sorry ‘bout all that stuff before. I dunno what came over me, but it ain’t gonna happen again. Killin’ witches is dumb! C’mon, Graves, you always help me. Nobody else’s gonna.”

Graves sighs. He looks really pained. I don’t really understand all the history that he and Nacht have together, but it’s pretty obvious that Graves isn’t as over Nacht as he’d probably like to be.

“You expect me to believe that you’ve changed,” Graves says slowly, “and yet you clearly have not. The curse would have broken if you were truly repentant.”

“That ain’t fair,” Nacht says. He unsheathes his claws on Graves’s leg, but then he resheathes them without scratching. “You don’t know how I feel! How am I s’posed to prove it if ya don’t let me stay? I’m tellin’ ya I’m gonna die out there if ya don’t help me!” He pushes himself up so that his front paws rest on Graves’s chest. “I know we used to think death was cool shit, but I don’t wanna die for real!”

“So that’s what you’re after,” Graves sighs. 

He closes his eyes, but the rest of his face looks impassive. He stays like that for so long that I would suspect he’d fallen asleep had I not known about the caffeine that’s got to be coursing through him right now.

“I don’t want you to die, either,” he speaks after what feels like an eternity. “For the sake of your life, and that alone, A Cat’s Paw will offer you sanctuary for the time being.”

There are several seconds of silence before a purr rumbles out.

“Knew ya still cared,” Nacht says. He pushes himself forward, inching closer and closer to Graves’s face.

For a second, I wonder if I’m going to need to avert my eyes. Thankfully, Graves saves the day by knocking Nacht off of him.

“It’s not going to be like that this time,” Graves says firmly. “You can hardly tempt me with that form. Focus on breaking that curse.”

“So _then_ I’ll tempt ya with—”

“Um!” I interrupt quickly. I get the feeling that they’ve forgotten me. I also really don’t want to hear about whatever nasty things Nacht is interested in doing with my boss. He looks like he likes nasty things. And Graves is way too weird not to have— Whoa, whoa, stop right there, Avery Grey! Do _not_ go down that road. “Graves” and “kink” do not belong in the same sentence. Except, damn it, I just _put_ them in the same sentence, but—

“Oh, Avery, could you do me a favor?” Graves asks me, giving me just the distraction I need.

“Yeah, of course! Anything!” I say, which was stupid, because I didn’t literally mean _anything,_ and yet…

“I can’t believe I have to share my pizza with two gross cats,” I complain, crossing my arms to express my extreme displeasure at this situation. I mean, I get why Graves doesn’t want to be alone with his ex all night, and it’s bad enough that Nacht is going to be spending his days at the café for the foreseeable future, and I absolutely want to help Graves, but! but!!! I don’t like that this creep is now staying at my apartment and eating my food!

“You stay right here,” I order, dumping another piece of _my_ pizza at Nacht’s feet as a kind of offering. “Don’t touch anything!”

Nacht waves his tail in what had better be acquiescence, and I take the opportunity to lock myself in my room.

I immediately call Finley. I must catch her when she’s in her human form, because she picks up on the first ring.

“Avery!” she answers. “Sweetheart, I was getting worried! Did Mochi give you problems at dinner?”

I laugh nervously.

“Oh, I’m having a problem with cats and dinner, alright. You’re not going to believe this…”


	2. Aconite

I go to work late the next morning, because Graves asked me to. My guess is that he had to explain the Nacht situation to everybody. And sure enough, when I get there, everybody keeps coming to glare at our new… guest(?). Even Mason is finding reasons to come out of the kitchen more often than usual!

“None’a y’all trust me?” Nacht asks. Amusement glimmers in his little cat eyes.

“We sure don’t,” I say, narrowing my eyes at him. “None of us are going to take our eyes off you. Especially not me. I know what you can do.”

“Can’t do nothin’ with these paws,” Nacht replies a little too innocently. I intensify my glare, and he laughs at me. “C’mon now, y’heard me before. I’m a whole new Nacht now. Ain’t gonna hurt nobody.”

“I’ll believe it when I see it,” I say.

I don’t exactly know what I’d actually need to see to believe him, but I assume I’ll know it when it happens. It hasn’t happened yet, that’s for sure.

At that moment, a customer walks in. I give Nacht a little push with my foot.

“Time for you to go earn your keep,” I tell him. I was mostly joking, but wow, he’s actually really good at this??? He’s a melty butter cat in people’s arms, and his purr is the really loud kind that makes people feel good about themselves and their cat-petting skills. He also has the sense not to scratch at children, unlike some of our real cats, and I have to deal with about a dozen adoption inquiries before I even make it to my first break.

“Why weren’t you like this with me?” I hiss in his ear under the guise of rearranging some of the toys in the cat area.

Nacht just smirks at me. He can’t talk in front of people, obviously, but he opens his mouth a little… and is that a cherry stem? Has somebody been feeding him their sundae?

“Haha! Friendly reminder to please keep all food out of the cat area!” I say with forced cheer as I maneuver the sign that _says that_ a little closer to the entrance. I also underline the words with a red marker. Nothing says anger quite like bright red. “There are health and safety concerns, everyone! For both people and cats!”

Nacht shoots me a lot of glares when nobody else is looking after that. Suck it up, you jerk.

“I fed you, too,” I mouth at him. He lets out a loud purr as a customer picks him up, but his eyes bore into my soul. It’s like looking at a demon.

“Hmph. Jelly Donut is better than him,” Finley says as she wraps an arm around me. 

“Jelly Donut,” I say seriously, “is the best cat to ever grace this café.”

Finley giggles as I draw her closer to me, pressing a kiss to her cheek. We both head off to take out break together, and boy, do I need it.

“Whyyyy is this happening to me?” I groan into Finley’s shoulder. She’s such a good hugger, honestly. Every hug she gives me sets a new record for Best Hug Ever. I’m going to tell her that later, but right now, I just have a big headache. “Is it my powers, huh? Trash witch draws trash people into her gravitational pull?”

“Sweetheart, I’m offended,” Finley laughs, and I suddenly jolt upwards.

“I am not talking about you!!!” I exclaim very forcefully. I may not have much energy right now, but I always have enough energy to defend my girlfriend… even from myself, apparently.

Finley laughs again and gently pats me.

“I _am_ Bl@st Zone trash, though, so it might count,” she says. I decide the best thing to do is to drop my face onto the table and groan some more.

All too soon, Reese is demanding that we get back out there.

I don’t know if I’m expecting mass destruction or what when I come out, but at any rate, everything looks very normal. Nacht is still wooing the customers over to the dark side, and the real cats are being their usual idiosyncratic selves. The rest of the day passes normally.

It’s going home at night that’s the problem. Finley offers to come over with me, but I don’t want to make Nacht her problem, so I suggest we just co-op Treah Online from our separate apartments. Treah’s a great RPG that I may or may not have gotten into because the mascot reminded me of Jelly Donut… but at any rate, it’s pretty a pretty low-maintenance game, which makes it great for situations where I know I’m going to be distracted by, say, the world’s most high-maintenance witch.

“Wha’d’ya mean we’re leavin’?” Nacht asks when I grab him and walk out the door. “We ain’t even seen Graves yet! Where is he?”

“I don’t know,” I say quietly. It’’s pretty clear that he’s about to talk up a storm, so I run until I reach the alley path I normally take. We can talk there without it being weird. I mean, without it being weird to other people. I still think it’s weird to talk to Nacht at all.

“He’s your boss! Don’tcha reckon you oughtta know where he is?” Nacht complains. “Know what I think? I think y’all’re hidin’ him from me.”

I roll my eyes. Sure, I’d like to make sure Nacht doesn’t pester Graves all day, but it’s not like I can do anything but keep Nacht out of Graves’s apartment. I don’t even know if Graves was there today. He usually comes out at some point during the day if he’s around, but I mean, I wouldn’t blame him if he wanted to avoid Nacht. I’d like to avoid Nacht, too.

“We don’t always see him,” I say. “He’s busy being the most powerful witch in the city, or something.”

I shrug, which unbalances Nacht a little from his position on my shoulders. Ha, that was unintentional, but I don’t bother to feel bad for him. That’s what he gets for refusing to ride in my arms.

Of course, I’m the one who’s really punished, because he digs his claws into me to hold on. Figures.

“That’s real dumb, kitten,” Nacht says once he’s regained his balance. “Ya don’t want your coven’s leader disappearin’ on ya. ‘Course, y’all’re a little too small to hold yourselves out as a real coven, but the idea’s the same. Other witches ain’t gonna like y’all gathering, anyway.”

“It’s not like Graves is going to abandon us or anything,” I say. I resist the urge to shrug again. “He’s just busy and stuff. We just try to spend time with him when we can. I’m not going to bug him about it, and you’re not, either.”

Nacht is uncharacteristically quiet the rest of the way home. I’ve never found silence so blissful.

Unfortunately, it doesn’t last inside my apartment.

“We’re having pizza _again?_ ” he asks. I don’t appreciate his tone.

“You’re a freeloader, so you don’t get to complain,” I say dismissively.

Mochi lets out a little mewl in the corner of the kitchen. I don’t know what he said, but it makes Nacht’s eyes widen.

“Ya’ve gotta be kiddin’ me. Nobody’d actually eat that.”

“Hey, wait a minute!” I exclaim. I don’t need my eating habits judged like this, thank you! “Mochi, stop telling him things about me! I can’t believe my own familiar would betray me like this!”

Nacht cackles and makes his way to my couch. He doesn’t even have the decency to sit at the side. Oh, no, the jerk sits right in the center. Well, the joke’s on him, because I’m playing on my laptop tonight, and I can do that from my own room! 

I still spitefully give him the greasiest piece of pizza in the box. He doesn’t look mad or anything, though. No, he looks like he’s having way too much fun.

Dang it, I’m not going to waste my night playing whatever dumb game he thinks he’s playing! I have real, well-produced, award-winning games to play!

“Don’t screw anything up or I’m going to bury you under 50 feet of landfill,” I say, tossing the TV remote onto the couch. There, now he has no excuse not to entertain himself. I get, like, a billion channels. I don’t know what he likes, but I bet it’s on right now.

I’m 30 minutes into gaming when I realize that I probably shouldn’t have left Nacht with Mochi. I can’t trust either of them, apparently!

“Hey, is it okay if I idle for a bit?” I ask Finley. We’re in a town, not a battle, so the situation’s not dire, but I’m not just going to get up and leave without telling her anything.

“Is everything okay?” Finley asks. We’re not about to type about magic problems on the in-game chat, just in case some kind of internet witch gets their hands on it or something, but it’s easy enough to speak around the issue.

“I’m just checking on the cats. If I’m not back in 5, just call me.”

“Alright. I’ll get our supplies ready while you’re gone.”

I send her a heart emoji before I tab out of the game.

All I hear when I leave my room is the sound of the TV. No southern drawling. No feline mewling. Suspicious.

I creep closer to the couch. I have to wince as a woman on the TV screen screams. Oh… Oh my god! Is there supposed to be that much blood in a single human body? No, wait, that’s a lot of bodies… Wait, what is that guy doing with his mouth? He’s… Oh! Oh! Okay! Nacht is never getting control of my TV again! 

Only, the second I look down on the couch to berate him, have to pause. Nacht is curled up asleep, and Mochi… appears to be washing him. That’s… uh… kind of cute.

Another woman screams on the TV, and I pick up the remote to mute it. What the hell is this movie, anyway? I press a few more buttons.

“Vampire Murder Orgy 3: Now We’re All Fucked”

Uhhh how about no? I finally just shut the whole thing off in disgust.

Okay, so, it’s a little scary that this is what Nacht thinks of as bedtime entertainment… But, cool, at least he’s asleep and not learning about anything embarrassing in my past courtesy of Mochi. Or plotting my death. Or actually watching that movie, ew.

I guess the sudden absence of sound must have caught Nacht’s attention somehow, because he begins to stir. His eyes open just a little before closing again… and then he suddenly jolts awake, fur bristling.

“Hey! Hey! Who told ya you could do that? ‘Cause I never said ‘lick me,’” Nacht hisses.

I shouldn’t laugh. I should just... Aw, screw it, this is hilarious!

“You! You told your familiar to do this, didn’t ya?” Nacht accuses.

I can’t answer through my laughter. It takes me at least a minute before I can choke any words out.

“Don’t— don’t blame me— because Mochi thinks you’re filthy,” I gasp out.

“I ain’t no cat! I don’t bathe like that!” Nacht responds.

You know, now that I’m looking closer… he really is filthy. Yuck, and I let him stand on my shoulders?

“Well, when you let people put their grubby fingers all over your fur, you’re going to get dirty. Mochi just wanted to help,” I say. 

Sorry for doubting you earlier, Mochi. You’re the best familiar ever.

Nacht glares at me.

“I’d’a taken a shower already, but ya keep your bathroom door closed.”

“It wouldn’t have done you any good!” I retort. “How are you supposed to take a shower without any ha— ohhhh no.”

“What?” Nacht demands.

“Nope, nope, I’m not helping you bathe. Not on my life,” I say. Sorry, Graves, but this is beyond the duties I am willing to take care of.

“Y’ain’t touchin’ me,” Nacht agrees, looking equally displeased. Good. I’m glad we’re both horrified.

But Nacht can’t just stay disgusting, either. Luckily, I have an idea…

“Hold still for a second,” I say.

Dirt is just nature’s trash. Kind of. Enough for my magic, anyway.

One by one, the specks of grime in Nacht’s fur heed my call. They fly into the air and combine into a ball, leaving Nacht perfectly clean without me ever having to lay a finger on him.

I’m pretty proud of myself, actually. I’d be _really_ proud of myself if I didn’t now have a floating ball of dirt in the middle of my apartment.

“Nice trick, kitten,” Nacht laughs. “You gonna get rid’a that now?”

“Don’t taunt me or I’ll put it back,” I mutter. But I don’t really mean it. I just want this thing out of here.

My eyes flicker to the window. I guess it’s as good a plan as any.

I open the window, and the ball of dirt goes flying out of it like a baseball. I think it falls apart above some poor kid’s bike. Oops.

“Shoulda just erased it from existence,” Nacht says. “But ya don’t know how, do ya?”

Ohhhh, that condescending tone makes me want to throw _him_ out the window! I grit my teeth 

“I don’t want any advice from _you._ ” I say.

“Good, ‘cause I ain’t givin’ ya none.” He smirks. “I don’t take no apprentices. But you oughtta ask Graves. He’ll teach ya real good.”

Wait a minute…

“You just want to tag along with me so you can bother him!” I say, throwing my hands up in exasperation. I can’t _believe_ we’re right back where we started from earlier this evening! 

Nacht doesn’t even deny it.

“I’m just sayin’ it’d be good for both’a us.” He swishes his tail in a gesture of innocence. Like I’m buying that.

My cell phone rings. Oh, shit, Finley.

I answer the call and take a deep breath. Finley’s call has distracted me from my impending scream fest for the time being..

“Who’s calling? Tell ‘em you’re busy and—”

But it was a very short time being.

“Finley!” I shout into the phone. “I! Hate! Him!”


	3. Honeysuckle

The next couple weeks pass the same, frustrating way. Graves doesn’t show his face at work. Nacht whines about not seeing Graves. I suffer. Finley learns to keep her phone’s volume down whenever she calls me.

In truth, though, I am getting worried about Graves. It’s not unusual for us to see little of him during the day, but it _is_ unusual for us to not see him at all.

“You don’t think he’s hurt, do you?” Hayes asks when we’ve all become concerned enough to hold a meeting.

“No way! We’d know if there were any magical threats around right now. Of course he’s fine!” Reese says confidently. Probably more confidently than he feels. Of all of us, Reese loves Graves the most. He was probably the first to notice Graves’s regular absence.

“Might not’a been magic,” Nacht chimes in. He obviously wasn’t invited, but, you know. Babysitting. “Y’all _do_ know witches ain’t inhuman? Still got bones to break, hearts to burst, all that? He told ya that?”

Landry shifts a little in his seat, and I can feel static tingle in the air. Ugh, Nacht doesn’t even _know_ that’s a sensitive subject, and he _still_ managed to bring it up. Is his knack frustration? I really think it might be frustration!

“Alright, alright, everybody calm down!” I say as placatingly as I can. “I think we can say with near certainty that Graves is not dead or seriously injured.”

I gesture to Nacht. His ears twitch.

“Kitten’s right,” he says. “If Graves was dead, poof, I’d be a human.”

The loud purr that comes out of his mouth does not do him any favors in the sympathy department.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Reese says furiously. “If anything happens to him, I’ll—”

He cuts himself off, staring at a point behind my head. I turn around to follow his gaze.

Oh. Huh. It’s Graves himself, looking all friendly-goth like normal.

“You make a somber circle,” Graves says in greeting. “Having a grave conversation?”

Is… Is that a pun? Or a coincidence? When did he get here?

I half expect Nacht to launch himself at Graves like he did before, considering how agitated he’s been about Graves’s absence, but he just hops into the center of our table, chest puffed out like he’s about to make an important announcement or something.

“Nah, we’re just talkin’ bout what happens if ya run off ‘n’ die without tellin’ us,” he says. “I’ll take over for ya, but your coven ain’t gonna like it.”

“Um? Over my dead body?” Reese interjects. 

“If that’s what ya want, kid,” Nacht says. He laughs. “See, they ain’t gonna like it.”

“I apologize if I’ve caused you all concern,” Graves says. “I’ve had some business to take care of, but it’s nothing you should worry about. I don’t intend to cross the veil any time in the near future.”

“But you took care of it now, right?” Reese presses. “You’ll be around more now?” 

“The matter should be settled, yes,” Graves says. “I expect to be around for the foreseeable future, so I’ll make an effort to emerge from the dark depths of my apartment for you. Have you been missing our Donuts & Dragons nights?”

Pfft, Donuts & Dragons night is when we all get together and play tabletop rpgs. Mason provides the donuts, and Graves provides the games. As far as DMs go, he’s pretty engaging, except the problem is that he keeps killing off our characters and won’t let us make new ones. Once everyone dies, we start over on a different game. I think our record is, like, 5 different games in one night, and I don’t think we’ve ever gone more than two weeks without having to switch games. To be honest, I suspect Graves is just waiting for a good time to break out Dracula’s Rondo. Sooner or later it’s going to be the only game we haven’t played!

At any rate, as much fun as Donuts & Dragons nights are, I’m pretty sure we could live without them. Graves, you dumb man, we missed _you!_

“This Sunday, Graves! No excuses!” Reese says. “You’re spending the whole day with us. I’ll sew you to your chair if I have to.”

Graves chuckles.

“I would be delighted to join you.”

“I’ll make lunch,” Mason says, as terse as always. The edges of her lips are a little curled, though. She always takes so much pride in feeding us.

We’re all in good cheer when we eventually leave the café. Nacht doesn’t even whine about Graves; he just jumps on my shoulder without a word. I’m not about to look a gift horse in the mouth, so I very deliberately do not point out that he could probably go bother Graves in his apartment right now. 

“Do you want me to come over tonight?” Finley asks as we head outside.

You know what? I do. I’m sick of Nacht ruining my nights. I’m feeling too good right now. I’m going to have a good time with my girlfriend this time, and he’s not going to stop me.

“That sounds great,” I say, slipping my hand into hers. “I got you a present, actually. I was going to give it to you this weekend, but since you’re coming…”

“You’re so sweet,” FInley says. Aww, I really love the sound of her happy voice.

“You can probably guess what it is, but act surprised anyway, please!” I say. I mean, it’s pretty obvious. The new Bl@st Zone game released earlier this week, and I specifically told Finley _not_ to preorder it. I didn’t mention I was going to get her the limited edition, though. It was twice as expensive, but there’s, like, ten exclusive posters of Akiya in it. What can I say? She needs to have it.

The squeal she gives me when I show it to her more than makes up for the money I paid.

“Avery, thank you!” Finley exclaims. I lean in to kiss her, only I don’t get to, because Nacht decides he needs to jump on the couch between us _right that second._

‘I don’t get it,” he says. “Weren’tcha gonna buy that game on your own anyway? Ya could’a had it sooner, too. Why’re ya so damn happy to get it four days late?”

Finley and I give him a glare at the same time. It’s not very effective.

“I’m happy that Avery was thinking about me,” Finley says. “I could get a bunch of old chewing gum wrappers and I would still feel grateful.”

“Ha… Ha… That might literally be your anniversary present, you know?” I say, laughing nervously. Trash flowers are an okay gift if they’re your knack, right?

“I know,” Finley says with an amused glint in her eye. “I overheard you talking about it to Hayes.’

Dang it! I keep forgetting that you can’t say anything at the café without Finley finding out about it.

“I’ll think of something else,” I say. Maybe if I work on my soda can sculptures a little more, I can give her a figure of Akiya. That would be something unique, at least. Maybe I’ll get her some real flowers to go with it, too.

“I s’pose it’s easy to get each other stuff when ya both got bad taste,” Nacht says. He settles down into the couch cushion like he’s planning on staying there. Uh, no.

I shove Nacht off with as much force as I can. Then I put my head in Finley’s lap. Ha! Good luck wriggling between us now, furball!

“Can I watch you play, babe?” I ask, smiling up at Finley. “I always feel relaxed when I watch you.”

Finley smiles back at me as she runs a hand through my hair.

“You can do whatever you want tonight, sweetheart,” she says. “I know you’ve had a rough time lately. You deserve to rest.”

“Thanks. I’ll try not to fall asleep on you,” I say, only half joking. My eyelids feel like lead right now.

“You can sleep, honey. You won’t be missing much,” Finley says gently. “I have to 100% all the other Bad Routes before Akiya unlocks.”

“Yeah… Dumb…’ I murmur. With Finley’s permission, my eyes don’t seem to need my own consent to shut. I blink them back open, and I do a pretty good job of staying more or less awake for about ten minutes into the game, but then it gets harder and harder to keep my eyes open. The last thing I see is the protagonist getting kabadon-ed.

“So stupid,” Finley says. Her laughter is comforting as I slip into unconsciousness.

I don’t know how long I’m out, but when I wake up, Finley is already on a different route.

And Nacht is on the arm of the couch… arguing with her about it?

“Punching him ain’t gonna do _shit,_ ” Nacht says loudly. “Kick him in the balls ‘n’ ya might do some damage.”

“I’m not going to do that!” Finley insists. “We want him to have sex with us!”

“No we don’t!” Nacht argues. “He’s ugly!”

“I know! But I told you already! We have to do his route for Akiya!” 

Finley suddenly notices that my eyes are open. She gasps.

“Oh, sweetheart, I’m so sorry!” she exclaims. “I didn’t mean to wake you up!”

I shake my head as I sit up. I still lean a little on her shoulder.

“No, I get it,” I say. “And now you understand why I’ve been shouting so much lately.”

Finley nods, sighing. Nacht purrs like he’s proud of himself or something. What an asshole.

“Nacht, I’m surprised you like this game,” I say to distract him from bothering Finley for a bit.

“It’s got fightin’ in it. It ain’t too bad.” Nacht says. “‘Cept none’a the writers ever been in a fight in their lives. I could kick all’a these guy’s asses, wouldn’t even need t’be human.”

“The fighting is a pretext for love! The only punching they really want to do is lip punching! WIth their own lips!” Finley says. Her eyes get a little sparkly. She’s a big ol’ romantic like that.

Nacht laughs.

“That’s shit, too. Writers ain’t ever been in a relationship in their lives, either.’

Finley and I resolve to ignore him, and I guess it works, because Nacht doesn’t say any more. Maybe he keeps watching the game. I’m not really paying attention to what he’s doing. But I do notice when he crosses the couch and curls up in the corner opposite of us.

“Get off’a my couch and go to bed,” he grumbles.

“Uh, excuse me? _Your_ couch?” I ask incredulously. What kind of nerve???

“Y’know what I mean, kitten,” Nacht says. Ew, why does he sound so dejected? Is that what happens when he’s tired? If that’s the case, I think I might hate sleepy Nacht even more than regular Nacht!

“I hate to do anything that implies doing what he says, but it really is late, Avery,” Finley says, sighing. “I should probably go.”

I’d ask her to stay, but she can’t take the couch for obvious reasons, and I’m not sure I’m quite ready to invite her into my bed.

“Okay. Be careful.”

I wrap Finley in a hug before she leaves.

“I’ll go as Jelly Donut. There are lots of great shortcuts for cats,” Finley says. She caresses my face one last time, and then I sneeze.

Jelly Donut hops out my window with practiced ease. I shut it behind her, just in case Nacht gets any ideas, but as far as I can tell, he’s fast asleep on the couch. _My_ couch, to be clear.

“Ugh. Come on, Mochi,” I say, grabbing him from the pizza box he’s sleeping inside. “I’m sure tomorrow is going to be another long day.”


	4. Yellow Tulip

It’s another long day.

Nacht doesn’t even let me get to the café before he starts causing trouble. As we’re passing the corner store—the good one with the good donuts that we found out Mason’s grandpa owns—Nacht starts tugging my hair.

“Go in there. I need t’get somethin’.” he insists.

“What could you possibly need from there? Catnip?” I ask. Nacht doesn’t find it as funny as I do.

I try to walk past, but Nacht yanks so hard on a strand of my hair that it _comes out._

“What the hell?” I exclaim after I yelp in pain..

“Go inside,” Nacht demands. He gives my hair another tug. It’s gentler, but my scalp’s still tingling from his previous assault, and it’s enough to make my skin prickle.

“Okay, okay!” I relent. “But you’d better keep all paws, claws, and teeth inside the ride at all times, you little ingrate.”

“Quit talkin’ nonsense,” Nacht says, but I think he knows full well what I meant, because he switches to using his tail to direct me down the aisles. 

“So what are you looking for, anyway?” I ask quietly. Mason’s grandpa is in the back, and I don’t think he can hear us.

“Dunno yet,” Nacht mutters. “And stop walkin’ so fast. I’m checkin’ this stuff out.”

“You mean I’m going to be late to work because you want to browse around?” I whisper angrily.

“You’re gonna be late to work ‘cause ya pressed snooze on your alarm six times,” Nacht counters. “Shut up.”

Okay, he’s _right,_ but I still hate him.

“We’ve been down every aisle three times,” I whisper as I turn down the last aisle for what is, in fact, the third time. I counted. “The shopkeeper thinks I’m weird.”

“Not my problem,” Nacht says. “Go over there again.” He gestures to the aisle with beauty products.

“If you don’t get whatever it is you need right now, I’m walking out the door,” I threaten. “You can eat my hair all you want.”

“Get that one,” Nacht demands. I pick up a bottle of what appears to be… shampoo. Rose-scented shampoo..

“I thought we established that I’m not bathing you,” I say. I’m about to put it back on the shelf when Nacht swats my hand.

“It ain’t for me, kitten,” he says. “It’s for Graves.”

“I don’t think Graves needs $2 shampoo from the convenience store,” I say.

“And your girlfriend didn’t need ya t’buy her that $80 game, but that didn’t stop ya.”

Oh? My god? Does he think he’s going to win Graves over with some soap?

“Yeah, but here’s the thing: Finley likes me. I’m not spending my money to give Graves something he doesn’t want from someone he doesn’t like.”

“He’s gonna like me more if I give him stuff,” Nacht argues. “‘Sides, you don’t gotta pay. I got it covered.”

“How are you going to cover it?” I ask. He doesn’t answer, but he headbutts the back of my head so I’ll move forward.

I place the stupid shampoo on the counter. While Mason’s grandpa turns around to get a bag, I start digging through my pockets. Surely I have some money in here somewhere.

But suddenly, a five dollar bill appears on the counter. What? I turn to look at Nacht, who just purrs loudly.

When Mason’s grandpa turns around again, I almost feel bad for letting him take the money. But what am I supposed to say? “Something’s fishy but I don’t know what?” No, he probably already thinks I’m suspicious enough for skulking around for so long. 

“Uh… Keep the change!” I say quickly, grabbing the shampoo and walking away as quickly as I can without screaming “arrest me.”

“What did you do?” I ask as soon as we’re out of earshot of other people. 

“Paper magic,” Nacht says, “‘Bout the only thing it’s good for.”

“I can’t believe you would use magic to commit fraud!” I exclaim.

Wait a minute, yes I can.

 _Wait_ a minute, _paper_ magic?

“I thought you were a rust witch…” I say warily. “I also thought you couldn’t do magic in this form…”

“Scared, kitten? ‘Fraid I’m gonna give you a papercut?” He laughs. “Now there’s an idea. But nah, paper magic’s weak as shit. The rust’s an added talent, but Graves never liked me usin’ it. He locked it away when I’m like this, but I guess he forgot t’take it away in my human form. I can fight ya with it if ya wanna take me outside the city.”

“Absolutely not!” I exclaim, horrified. 

“I’m kiddin’! I’m kiddin’!” Nacht says. 

Sure, Nacht. I didn’t think it was very funny. But I settle for cuffing him on the ear. He doesn’t seem offended.

“Think maybe Graves’s might’a had a point tellin’ me not to use it,” Nacht continues. “Been feelin’ better since I had t’stop “

“Yeah?” I duck my head a little so he can’t see my smug smile.

“Yeah,” Nacht repeats.

“Then maybe you should listen to Graves more often,” I say.

It’s totally a checkmate moment, only Nacht doesn’t react properly at all. He just laughs.

“You know he ain’t the end all be all’a wisdom, don’tcha?” he asks. “Didja know he used t’do the money thing with me? He made coins.”

“He wouldn’t do that!” I argue.

“We got in free anywhere we wanted,” Nacht continues, sounding far too pleased with himself. “Wonder if he still does it sometimes. Can’t be easy runnin’ a cat café that’s basically a charity. Bet he could use a li’l spare change.”

“This is slander!” I exclaim. “Graves is not operating a fraudulent business!”

I mean, sure, it’s a front for witches, and there was that whole cat curse thing, but that _was_ in the contract.

Nacht’s laughter turns to loud purring as we enter the café. Yeah, that’s right, you’d _better_ shut up.

Reese is not amused when he spots me. 

“Avery, this is bad even for you!” he admonishes.

I’m not taking the blame for this, though! I wouldn’t have even snoozed my alarm once if I wasn’t so darn exhausted from my daily Night Watch!

“Nacht made me buy this stupid shampoo!” I say, slamming the bottle down on the nearest counter. I leave out the part where _he_ technically bought it with magic money, because that's too much to go into right now.

Behind me, a customer giggles.

“Aww, did you make a mess?” she coos to Nacht. “Well, you sure are a clean kitty now, aren’t you? Yeah?” 

Nacht purrs.

I try to reign in my dirty look. Of course the customers think the shampoo was for him. Normal cats don’t ride on people’s shoulders and backseat drive. 

Reese looks at me with a little more sympathy, and I sigh.

“It’s okay. I’ll stay late.”

Reese nods.

“I’m sorry, Avery,” he says, offering me a sympathetic smile. “I don’t know why we don’t just kick him out onto the streets.”

I shake my head.

“No, I think it’s good that he’s here,” I say. “He’s… better. He told me earlier that he thought Graves was _right_ about something.”

“What? No way. Are you sure you weren’t hallucinating from sleep deprivation?” Reese asks.

“No, really, I swear!” I laugh. “It’s hard to tell because he’s so obnoxious… But he could be a threat if he wanted to, and he’s not. So I think maybe something did change.”

I don’t know if it was the rust magic or what. Nacht seemed to think that’s what it was. And I mean, if it could corrode even people, maybe it was corroding him, too. I’ve never heard of magic working like that, but I guess I can hardly call myself an expert after studying for just a year. But at any rate, seeing him use magic today did change the way I thought of him, a little. I thought he was completely magic-less and had no choice but to get along with us. But if he has paper magic he can use… Well, he says paper magic is weak, but he’s a crafty kind of guy, and he’s been a powerful witch for a long time. I, on the other hand, am still trying to figure out what the heck I’m supposed to do with my garbage. Like, honestly, I bet Nacht knows 20 different ways to kill me with paper in my sleep. But he hasn’t even threatened me with his magic. I don’t think it means he’s completely cool with me, but I do think it means that he won’t hurt me. Or the others. I really believe he’s just here for Graves.

I keep the shampoo bottle with me all morning as I work. I think it’s the worst gift in the history of gifts, but you know what? Nacht can figure that out for himself. When I break for lunch, I grab Nacht off the floor and haul him off to Graves’s apartment with me. I figure he’ll throw a fit later if I don’t.

Graves isn’t around when we first enter. Hmm, well, I guess I can just leave him a note.

“Hey, Nacht, you wanna make me some paper— “ I start, but Nacht isn’t standing next to me anymore.

“Graves, c’m’out here!” Nacht says, scratching on the door to Graves’s bedroom. “Dracula says you’re in there!”

I slide my gaze over to Dracula, who rolls over and stretches herself contentedly across the couch. Oh, man, she looks so soft and good to sleep next to. Maybe I could take just a little nap…

“Ah, Avery,” Graves says as he steps out of his room. “What can I do for you?

Focus, Avery, focus!

“Uh, well, this is kind of weird, but— “ I start.

“Quit ignorin’ me!” Nacht demands. He takes a big leap and lands on Graves’s shoulders. It’s exactly the same thing he does to me, only I’m used to it, so I don’t stumble anymore. Graves, on the other hand, has to brace his arm against the wall for balance.

“Considering that you refuse to leave me alone regardless of how much I ignore you,” Graves says calmly, as if he didn’t just nearly fall (wow, talk about composure!), “I thought it prudent to attend to the needs of my invited guest first.”

“I gotcha a present ‘n’ everything, and this is how ya treat me,” Nacht complains. Ya don’t gotta be that cold.”

“He really did get you a present,” I say in Nacht’s defense. “But he used magic to counterfeit the money, so it’s kind of morally tainted.” He doesn’t deserve _that_ much credit.

Nacht shoots Graves a look I don’t know how to read. But I guess Graves does? I guess if you know someone for a long time you figure out how to read them. I wonder if they have, like, inside jokes and stuff, too? It’s just so weird to think that they’ve known each other for… longer than I’ve been alive, probably.

“The kitten think you’re a saint who’s gonna care about that, Graves,” Nacht says. “Y’ain’t, though, are ya?”

“I hardly _approve,_ ” Graves begins to say. I quickly hand over the shampoo bottle before he has to say anything more. I’m not going to judge him or anything if he wants it. The deed’s already done. 

Not to mention the fact that _I_ don’t want to keep it!

Graves stares neutrally at the bottle for a few seconds before his brow begins to furrow.

“If this is your way of telling me that I’m failing to meet your standards of beauty— “

“The fuck? No! You look damn pretty,” Nacht growls. “I only gotcha that ‘cause the shitty store ain’t got no other roses.”

Shitty store? Ohhhh.

“I’m telling Mason and she’s going to kick your ass,” I mumble under my breath. I don’t think Graves and Nacht hear me.

“You have never concerned yourself with gifts before,” Graves says. “Forgive me if I find it hard to believe that this was done in good faith.”

“‘Fat lot’a good this gift thing’s doin’, ‘cause you ain’t even happy,” Nacht says. “Shouldn’t’a started doin’ it now, I guess.”

“Thank you, Nacht,” Graves says flatly. “Is that what you hoped to hear?”

“Not like that,” Nacht says. “Ya could try meanin’ it. That’d be swell.”

“Oh, give it up, Nacht,” I break in. “You can’t actually expect anyone to reward you for something you half-assed.”

Nacht gives me a nasty look. I give him a nasty look right back.

“You’re done here. We’re leaving,” I continue. “My break’s almost over and I haven’t even eaten yet.”

“Ah, Avery,” Graves interjects. “I never meant to burden you so heavily. You don’t need to trouble yourself with him anymore, if it’s getting to be too much.”

I shake my head.

“No, it’s alright. He doesn’t bother me as much as he could,” I say. Nacht jumps onto my shoulders, his claws digging into me sharply. I’m pretty sure he clawed me on purpose, but he’s still kind of proving my point. He didn’t have to come to me at all.

“See. The kitten likes me,” Nacht says smugly.

Uh??? I do _not???_ I’m only trying to help Graves, who does so much for me and the rest of the employees.

“You are not completely devoid of good qualities, Nacht,” Graves responds before I can defend myself. “I have no difficulty believing that you could convince others to like you.”

Nacht makes a little “mmph” noise before he starts nudging the back of my head insistently. Yeah, okay, I’m going. 

“Feel free to come by again if you need a break, Avery,” Graves says as I leave. 

“Thanks,” I say. I might go see him again later, without Nacht. I can’t help but feel like I need to apologize.

For now, I go ahead and try to eat my lunch in five minutes. Nacht goes back to charming the customers. Hmm, I guess that’s what Graves meant about making others like him. But I think it’s unfairly easy when everybody else thinks you’re just a cute cat!

The rest of the day passes fairly uneventfully. I stay later than everyone else and clean to make up for being so late. Nacht doesn’t pester me, thankfully, probably because he’s asleep or something. I use this as my chance to slip up to Graves’s apartment alone. 

Graves is in his kitchen making coffee when I enter. He glances up at the sound of the door.

“Avery,” he greets. “I wasn’t expecting to see you so late.”

“Nacht got bored and went to sleep,” I say, shrugging. “Now seemed like a good time.”

“Can I offer you anything? Coffee? Dinner?” Graves suggests. 

“Nah, I’m good,” I say dismissively. “I’m not planning on staying for very long— “

My stomach rumbles, cutting me off. Ha… Ha... I’m so hungry. And as much I like antagonizing Nacht with it, I’m starting to get in the mood for _not_ pizza.

“Uh, actually, if you have any leftovers I could take with me, that would be super great.”

Graves gives me a smile before going to his fridge. Before too long, he’s handing me a bowl of noodles with vegetables and some kind of red sauce. Technically, I think this is pretty much just veggie pizza with the crust swapped out for pasta… but oh, whatever, it looks delicious! 

“Graves, you’re awesome!’ I exclaim. “Uhhhh, but you know I wasn’t just coming here to steal your food, right?” I laugh.

“I would hardly consider this a theft,” Graves says with a chuckle. “I’m no chef, but you’re always welcome in my kitchen.”

“Thanks, but you eat too healthy for me to mooch off of you all the time,” I joke. “I have to eat like trash at least once a week, you know.”

Graves laughs again.

“Okay, but speaking totally seriously now,” I say, “I really thought I should apologize to you for earlier. I mean, I know you don’t want to see Nacht or anything, but when he was looking for that gift for you… I don’t know; he was just really serious about it. And so I thought it would be awful not to give it to you, even though it was just shampoo. I didn’t mean to make you upset.”

The smile is gone from Graves’s face, which really stirs up my guilt again. But then Graves places a hand on my shoulder.

“Avery,” he says reassuringly, “you haven’t done anything wrong.”

Haven’t I? But he continues.

“I didn’t ask you to take care of Nacht so I could avoid him,” he says.

“You didn’t?” I ask in surprise.

“It would be useless,” Graves says. “I cannot ever avoid him. He… occupies my thoughts.”

Oh. This whole time, I thought Nacht was just fixated on an ex who had already moved on. It never occurred to me that Graves might still care about Nacht, too...

“Do you know why I asked _you,_ Avery?” Graves continues.

I can only shake my head in confusion. Was it not just because I was the one who brought Nacht in?

“You have the remarkable ability to inspire others,” Graves says. “And I do so desperately wish he would find inspiration enough to fulfill the condition necessary to break his curse.”

“And what is that?” I ask. “Wait, no, don’t tell me! He might weasel it out of me,” I rush to continue.

“It’s for the best that he doesn’t know,” Graves says, nodding, well, gravely. “It would mean nothing unless he came to the idea on his own.”

So it’s some kind of proof of Nacht being a good person, I guess. I think that’s going to be hard to get… And I have no idea how _I’m_ supposed to inspire him to do anything.. But… I think I’d like to see him break the curse, too.

“Uhhhh, Graves?” I ask hesitantly. “If Nacht does break the curse, would you… would you want him to stay with you?”

Graves contemplates it for a moment.

“I don’t know, Avery.”

Hmm.

I don’t have much to say to Nacht as we walk home. I think it makes him angry, because he keeps spitefully sticking his paws into my food once we’re back at the apartment, even though I put his half on a clean paper plate and everything.

The paper plate comes flying at my face.

“Can you maybe cut that out?” I ask through gritted teeth. “I’m trying to figure out if I want to help you or not, and right now it’s leaning toward ‘no.’”

“Real funny, kitten,” Nacht says. “Ain’t nothin you can help me with.”

I toss a tomato at his head, and he purrs as he catches it in his mouth. Dang it, that’s what he wanted me to do the whole time, isn’t it?

“Yeah, I’m sure you’re right,” I say. “But sooner or later you’re going to have to start helping yourself.”

I grab the TV remote, determined to end the conversation here. I flip around until I land on some cartoon movie I think I saw once as a kid. It has singing farm animals in it or something. It will do. I stretch out on the couch and make myself comfortable.

A few minutes later, Nacht jumps on the couch with me. Since I’m taking up all the room, he just settles down on the arm closest to my head. He takes one look at what I’m watching and apparently finds it unsatisfactory, because he closes his eyes.

I assume we’re done here, but nope. Nacht gets the last word.

“I see why Graves likes ya,” he mutters, grimacing. “For a minute there ya sounded just like him.”


	5. Begonia

The next time I see Graves, he’s in a much better mood. It’s probably because it’s Donuts & Dragons night (or… day, because Reese insisted. I’m with him, though; I think we could all use some fun in our lives right now). 

“Avery, sweetheart, you’re late! We had to start without you!” Finley exclaims. 

Yeah… I can’t blame it on Nacht this time. I just couldn’t get going this morning.

“You’re just in time, though,” Landry says with a laugh. “All our characters are dead except Mason’s, and she’s about to get swallowed by a bear.”

“Yep,” Mason says. She points to her dice. A critical fail, huh? That seems like overkill.

I take a seat between Finley and Graves. Nacht stays balanced on my shoulders right up until I start leaning onto Finley, at which point he jumps over to Graves. 

“I can’t— “ Nacht starts, but suddenly his eyes widen as a purr chokes him off.

“Hmm?” Graves tilts his head to look at Nacht, and suddenly, I get it. He smells like roses.

“I can’t believe you’re still playin’ around with these things,” Nacht says as he readjusts his grip on Graves’s shoulder. I guess he’s going to stay there for a while.

“If by ‘these things’ you mean roleplaying games,” Graves says, “it’s because they are fun. You remember, don’t you? You loved playing as Baron Von Bloodaxe so much that we had to do a song about it.”

Across the table, Reese nearly chokes on his coffee.

“ _You’re_ the one responsible for VnBldx?” he asks. “It’s just 13 minutes of loud banging! It’s so out of place on the album!”

“13 minutes of loud banging happens to capture the entirety of the Baron’s person,” Graves says, his smile stretching into a grin. “He would always bang the enemy with his axe.”

“Enemies ain’t the only thing he went around bangin’,” Nacht adds. I _hope_ he’s not talking about Lord Ashenfall Ravensworth, but I have zero faith in him.

Graves is still smiling when he goes back to the game.

“Alas! Your party has been completely destroyed! The heroes have been vanquished forever! There is no hope left in this world!” He closes the book he has in front of him. “Shall we move on to another plane together?”

“Where are going this time, o great master of worlds,” Finley asks cheerfully.

“To a land some of you may be familiar with,” Graves responds. “A land where four clans live in peace around a lake.”

Clans? Oh, no, Graves, come on…

Graves passes around character sheets for the Warrior Cats Adventure Game. We all let out a collective groan (or maybe I just groan so loud it echoes). 

“Do I get one’a those?” Nacht asks, but Graves shakes his head.

“You don’t need to roleplay this,” he says. “You are already a cat.”

“Um… Graves… We’ve all been cats…” Hayes points out. “Do _we_ really need to— “

“I’m naming mine Jellydonutpaw!” Finley interrupts excitedly.

“Hey, that’s not how the names work!” Reese says. “Did you even read the books, Finley?”

“Yeah!” Finley insists. “A few of them… Okay, one… Or I saw a Youtube video about it, at least…”

“Firepaw,” Mason says, pointing at her own sheet. “Her name is Firepaw.”

“You can’t just use Firepaw!” Reese argues. “There’s a character in the actual books named Firepaw, and he’s very important!”

“Mine’s different,” Mason says. “She’s a girl.”

Somehow, despite the initial hesitation, we start getting into the game. It helps that Graves doesn’t kill us all off in ten minutes, for once. My character, Greypaw (I ignore Reese’s protests of “We can’t have another Greypaw, too!” because, hey, Grey was my name first) is ultimately the first to die, by falling into a ravine.We’ve been playing for three hours at this point, which is a personal best for me.

Jellydonutpaw (Graves allowed the name) very nearly dies trying to rescue Greypaw, but a lucky roll prevents her from going over the edge, too.

“Thanks for trying, babe,” I say, resting my head on Finley’s shoulder. 

Finley nods as she pets my hair.

“Jellydonutpaw will not rest until she avenges her mate,” she says darkly. “She lives for revenge now!”

“Rage against the ravine, Jellydonutpaw,” Graves says solemnly. “Rage all you like, but forget not that your mate walks alongside you from StarClan.”

Awww man, I forgot that this universe has an afterlife. 

“Okay, if I have to keep playing as a ghost or whatever, I’m going to need some snacks,” I say, standing up.

“Avery, we _just_ had lunch,” Reese points out. It was, like, an hour ago, though, so I don’t see his point. “Besides, we already ate the donuts.”

Ha… Yeah, we did. They were delicious.

“You all can keep playing. I’ll go buy us some chips and stuff,” I say. I kind of want a break, anyway. 

“Uhhhhhh,” Reese says. The rest of the group looks somewhat uneasy, too.

“What?” I ask. “I won’t be very long.”

“Um, I-I don’t know how to say this…” Hayes starts. “You, um… You…”

“You have questionable taste in food, sweetheart,” Finley says. 

“ _Please_ don’t get those terrible ketchup chips again,” Reese says. “My tastebuds can’t _take_ it!”

“Hey, those were delicious!” I insist. “Right, everyone?”

Suddenly, nobody is willing to meet my eyes.

“Oh, fine. I’ll stick to plain this time.” I make a face. “Y’all are boring.”

Someone gasps, and everyone looks at me like I’ve grown a second head. What? What did I— 

WAIT.

NO.

“Stop rubbing off on me!” I shout, whirling around to point an accusing finger at Nacht. He grins like a Cheshire Cat at me.

“Ain’t my fault, kitten,” he says. “You’re the one who went ‘n’ said it.”

“Come on, you guys. You know that’s not me,” I say pleadingly to my friends. “He just never shuts up, so I hear it all the time! It could happen to anyone!”

“... I’ve been thinking it, too,” Finley admits in a whisper. “I got 200 thousand likes on my newest Jelly Donut video yesterday, and I thought ‘ain’t that something,’ before I could stop myself. His voice just worms its way into your head!”

“You always understand me,” I tell her gratefully. God, I adore this girl.

“Yeah, yeah,” Reese says, waving his hand dismissively. “I’ll forgive you if you get me some barbecue chips.”

“Sure, whatever you want,” I agree. “Any other requests?”

When nobody else adds anything, I turn to leave. I’m halfway out the door when Nacht takes a running leap onto my shoulders. I give him a glare, which he just laughs at.

“You’re not getting anything,” I tell him. “There’s no good reason for you to come.”

“You’re the only one makin’ this cat roleplay shit entertainin’,” Nacht says. “I betcha Graves’s makin’ this up just t’ annoy me. ‘Cause I’ve been readin’ over his shoulder, and y’all ain’t s’posed t’be pullin’ off half those stunts’a yours.”

“You think everything is about you,” I say, rolling my eyes. “Graves is just being creative.. We’re trying to have a good time, here.”

Still, I don’t bother to stop Nacht from going to the store with me. 

I do stop him from trying to pay for the things with his counterfeit money, though. If the cashier thought it was strange for me to suddenly stuff a twenty into my pocket just to replace it with another from a different pocket, they didn’t mention it. I just hope I’m not getting put on any watch lists for suspicious activity.

I try to explain the concept of “getting arrested for a federal crime” to Nacht as we walk through the alleyways back to the café. He looks super bored… until he suddenly goes completely still.

“What?” I ask. But when I follow his gaze, I answer my own question.

There are handprints along the side of one of the steel buildings. Handprints that look like they’re made of rust.

“Is… Is that…? Did you…” I ask.

But Nacht can’t use rust magic like this. And besides, I’m always watching him! He couldn’t have done anything!

But if not Nacht, then who?

“Get closer,” Nacht demands. 

I approach the wall and bend down, reaching out a hand—

“Not that close! Are ya stupid?” Nacht hisses. 

He jumps to the ground and sniffs at the bottom of the wall. His eyes widen.

“This ain’t right. This ain’t my magic.”

“I-I know! I wasn’t going to accuse you—” I start

“It ain’t about that, kitten,” Nacht interrupts. “I’m the only rust witch. Shouldn’t’a been possible for this t’ happen.”

“Then why did it happen?” I ask, horrified.

“Don’t know,” he says. He glances around the alley, his eyes landing on a piece of broken wood from some kind of frame. “Think ya can move that thing with your magic?” 

I mean, it’s broken and abandoned. Looks like trash to me. I give it shot, and it works: the wood rises into the air at my command.

“Touch that stuff with it,” Nacht commands. “And then drop it quick.”

Well it’s better than having rust eat me up. I sacrifice the wood to the rest, knocking it against the handprints and then letting it fall to the ground.

Nacht approaches it, sniffs it, waits a few seconds… and then he jumps back on my shoulders.

“It ain’t spreadin’.” he says. “It’s prob’ly nothin’.Some newbie screwin’ around with air magic ‘n’ speedin’ up the chemical reaction or somethin’’. All I know’s that the rust ain’t like mine.”

“Are you sure we shouldn’t be worried?” I ask. 

The thought that I shouldn’t trust him enters my mind. He obviously couldn’t have done it himself, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t involved. Who’s to say that he doesn’t have someone else who can do his bidding for him. Maybe he planned this out all along...

“I’m the _only_ rust witch,” Nacht insists. “There ain’t nobody else with power like mine, kitten.”

I want to believe that Nacht isn’t lying to me. And I think I do. If there’s one thing I can count on, it’s Nacht’s pride. He wouldn’t share power with another rust witch even if they were out there. Besides, he was just as shocked as I was to see the rust on the wall. It wouldn’t makes sense for him to have plotted this out. Would it?

I choose to trust him.

“If you say it’s not dangerous, I’ll take your word for it,” I say. “But if I see anything else suspicious, I’m going straight to Graves. I’m not letting my guard down.”

“Ya shouldn’t be doin’ that anyway,” Nacht says. “Graves’s hidin’ ya from the worst parts’a bein’ a witch. It’s a real nasty world.”

“What… What do you mean?” I ask hesitantly. 

“I mean your life expectancy’s cut in half the second ya get your magic, ‘cause everything’s a big death match” Nacht says. “And ya might get kicked outta your home, too, if it’s in some other witch’s territory. Graves’s weird for lettin’ folks roam in his.”

Is that true? Maybe I should ask about it. But when we get back to the café, the thought quickly slips out of my mind. Finley catches me up on everything that happened while I was gone, and we all stuff our faces with potato chips. Nacht goes back to perching on Graves, I go back to roleplaying a ghost cat, and everybody goes back to having fun.

Nacht and I don’t run into any more rust when we eventually head home, and by the next morning, I’ve forgotten the matter entirely.

There are more immediate things for me to worry about. Like how much Reese is going to hassle me if I show up late on a _Monday._

I end up making it on time, but I have to run the whole way, and Nacht laughs unsympathetically the whole time.


	6. Delphinium

The next month passes quickly and painlessly.

Well, unless you count all the times I frustratedly toss trash at either Nacht or Mochi. It’s (usually) not their fault; I’m just upset at my inability to craft Finley the perfect anniversary gift.

You know what the main problem with using magic to sculpt is? You have to actually know _how_ to sculpt. And while I’ve improved pretty far in my magical skills, my artistry is… lacking.

“Great, kitten, that one almost looks like a human,” Nacht says sarcastically from across the couch. “If ya meant a human gettin’ its head bit by a piranha.”

“That’s supposed to be Akiya’s hair,” I explain with a groan. “It’s hard to get the shape right, okay?”

“Why are ya wastin’ your time playin’ with cans, anyway?” Nacht asks. “Just buy your girl somethin’ like ya did before. You’re spendin’ more money on pop than it’d cost ya to get her somethin’ fancy.”

“That’s not the point,” I argue through gritted teeth. I’m not actually that annoyed with him; I am, however, annoyed that I accidentally smashed Akiya’s face in. “I want Finley to have something unique. Something that only I could give her,” I say. “I want to show her that I care enough to put in a lot of time for her.”

“Reckon she knows that already,” Nacht says. “Y’all’re always kissin’ each other. Wouldn’t be doin’ that if ya didn’t feel like spendin’ the time.”

“Well, yeah, I hope she already knows I care about her!” I say. “So what? I want to do something really special. It’s called being thoughtful. You should try it sometime.”

Nacht doesn’t reply, but he slides the TV remote over to his side and changes the channel to some violent horror movie. I think it’s some kind of power play, because I’ve realized by this point that Nacht actually gets bored with these kinds of shows. He’ll fall asleep in five minutes if I just ignore him. Normally, I’d relish the break, but today...

“Hey, you know what you should do?” I suggest. “You should craft with me. You could do something with paper, right? Like, uh, origami?”

Nacht looks at me like I just suggested we go jump into a sewer.

“What am I gonna do with a bunch’a paper shit?” he asks sourly. “Waste’a my time.”

“Fine, be that way,” I say, shrugging. “You can waste your time sitting here sleeping, instead. I don’t care.”

He glowers at me and turns back to the TV.

He does, in fact, fall asleep. (To be fair, it is getting late. I go to bed soon after.)

But. _But._ When I get up in the morning, I’m filled with a smug sense of glee to find a pile of crumpled paper around the couch. 

“I don’t wanna hear a word outta ya,” Nacht says as soon as I open my mouth.

I don’t say anything, but I do smirk. I also use my magic to pick up all the paper balls and dump them on him. That’s what he gets for leaving trash lying around.

My glee only lasts about a day, though. That’s how long it takes Nacht to figure out how to make these _beautiful, intricate_ designs that are so far beyond my skill level that it’s just not fair.

“It ain’t a big accomplishment t’be better than _you,_ ” Nacht says.

“Rude,” I mutter.

He even starts doing it with his eyes closed. What a show-off!

But even though I can’t help but feel like I’m being shown up, in the end, Finley only compliments one person’s art, and it’s not Nacht.

“You made me an Akiya figure!” Finley squeals. “Avery, it’s so cute!”

“I’m glad you like it,” I say, laughing. “It started looking a lot better once I painted it.”

I’d also figured out how to coat it with an extra layer of plastic for protection. It still doesn’t look professional or anything, but it’s something I’m not completely humiliated to have Finley post on her Instagram. (Which is good, because she posts a picture of herself with it almost immediately.)

“I’m sorry I couldn’t use my magic to make you something, too,” Finley says as she wraps her arms around me. “But I think you’ll like it anyway.”

She hands me a bag, and I pull out a shirt that says “Dumpster Diver” across the chest.

Of course I take to it immediately.

“And it’s made from recycled water bottles,” Finley adds, grinning. “So…”

“It’s trash!” I exclaim. “I love being trash!”

We both laugh, and—not to be dramatic, but—my heart soars.

We end up ordering Thai food and taking it to my room to eat. Nacht has actually been surprisingly out of the way tonight… but nevertheless, there are some things you just need to be alone for. 

“Sorry that we have to hide away like this,” I say. “I wish I could have taken you out to a restaurant or something…”

“As much as I would have liked to see you try to eat something fancy,” Finley says, giggling, “I think this is perfect. Anywhere I can spend time with you is perfect, sweetheart.”

She’s? So? Cute? 

“You’re the sweet one,” I say, cuddling up next to her. “I love that about you,”

And, more importantly…

“I just love _you,_ ” I continue. 

“And I just love _you,_ ” Finley responds.

My heart beats happily when we kiss. It beats happily every time we kiss.

And that night, we kiss a _lot._


	7. Arborvitae

Ever since I got Nacht to amuse himself with paper, he’s been bothering me less during work. I guess it’s probably a good thing. It’s not like he’s stopped charming the customers or anything; if anything, I think they like him even more. The difference is that now I can actually spend time with my coworkers throughout the day without getting aggressively monopolized by Nacht. I’m not going to complain about it; that’s for sure. It’s about time he settled down.

Of course, he’s still as much of a menace as ever at home… I say, but he’s actually not _that_ bad. He cleans up after himself and lately he’s stopped bothering me when I’m _actually_ too tired to deal with him. He’s even woken me up and demanded that I go to bed a few times when I’ve fallen asleep in the living room. (He _says_ it’s because he doesn’t want to share the couch with me, but a couple of those times, I was actually on the _floor,_ so that argument doesn’t hold up.) All things considered, he’s better than 99% of the roommates on the bad roommate subreddit I spent a few hours stalking the other day.

“Heads up, kitten,” Nacht says. A second later, a wad of old newspaper smacks me in the face. Ouch.

Yeah, so that’s why Nacht still deserves to be called a “menace” sometimes.

“What, are you trying to knock me out or something?” I ask, glaring at him.

“I _warned_ ya,” Nacht responds, grinning.

I grab the nearest couch cushion, raising it as if it were a weapon. Try me again, Nacht. 

“Now that ain’t fair,” Nacht says. “I threw trash at ya. Ain’t my fault ya didn’t stop it with your magic like you were s’posed to. Don’t be throwin’ things I can’t control.”

Are we supposed to be playing catch or something? 

Wait a minute.

“Our magic overlaps,” I realize. “We can both control paper trash…”

What does that mean? According to my book, magic is linked to your personality. And according to Graves, you can’t force magic that isn’t yours to work for you. That’s why Reese isn’t super advanced with his power even though he’s known about magic for forever. He was trying to force the wrong magic for a long time.

But Nacht and I aren’t forcing anything. Our magic isn’t even the same. It’s just… a coincidence?

This sort of thing isn’t in my magic book.

“I wouldn’t call what you got control,” Nacht says. At the same time, he launches a ball of crumpled paper at me.

I raise a hand. The paper responds to my power, and it stops just inches in front of my face.

“What is this, then?” I ask. “I’m controlling it!”

Nacht smirks.

“Get rid’a it,” he challenges.

Get rid of it. Sure. I can do that. Or, I mean, I’m sure I _could_ do that. If I knew how…

I send the ball flying back towards Nacht, instead, but the paper seems to dissolve out of existence before it can touch him.

“That’s real pathetic, kitten,” Nacht says. “Magic’s about creation and destruction. If ya can’t manage that, ya might as well give it up right now. “

“Hey! I’m still learning, okay?” I argue defensively.

“Are ya?” Nacht asks. “‘Cause ya ain’t practicin’ much. Makin’ sculptures doesn’t count if ya already know how t’do it.”

“Yeah, well…” I say. “Shut up! I’ve been busy!”

Nacht levels me with an incredulous stare.

“Yesterday I watched ya take an internet test four times ‘til ya got the answer ya wanted,” he says.

He’s technically correct, but in my defense, if I were an ice cream flavor, I would clearly _not_ be vanilla. And mint chocolate chip was wrong, too. And orange sherbert isn’t even ice cream! I had to take that quiz until it was _right._

“Why do you care, anyway?” I ask, crossing my arms. 

“I’m just tryin’ t’figure out how long you’ve got to live.” Nacht scowls. “If ya can’t even defend yourself from a newspaper, some witch’s gonna come along and off ya before too long.”

My hands clench into fists. Why is it that every time I start thinking he’s not that bad, he reminds me how awful he is?

“You mean someone like you?” I throw back accusingly. “I know you were a newbie killer! Just because you hang around here pathetically these days doesn’t mean you’re suddenly forgiven for that! Don’t talk to me about what I have to do!”

“I said I was stupid for doin’ that before,” Nacht says calmly. I hate how he does that. “But yeah, that’s how I know you’re gonna get killed if ya don’t shape up.”

“Don’t even pretend you’d care,” I growl. “Let me guess, you’re just worried about not having a place to stay anymore?”

“I don’t know what ya want me t’say, kitten,” Nacht says. “There are too damn many witches in the world. I ain’t gonna get all teary-eyed if some of ‘em die off.” He pauses, and his eyes flash with some emotion I don’t have enough time to decipher. “But you ain’t just another witch anymore. I don’t want somethin’ like that happenin’ to ya.”

I blink in surprise, anger morphing to shock in an instant. For Nacht, that was almost… warm.

“Are you telling me you care about me?” I ask. “How… How can you be alright with killing others, but not me? I… Nacht, I don’t get you at all!”

“Ya don’t gotta get upset. It’s simple,” Nacht says. “Life’s real nasty. Ain’t a lot’a stuff worth carin’ about. You ‘n’ Graves are the only good things in this world, far as I can see.” He shrugs. “Be nice if y’all’d stick around, is all I’m sayin’.”

So Graves and I are the only people Nacht thinks are worth caring about. I can’t relate. I think everyone is worth caring about. 

Even Nacht. 

And I guess I have to admit now that I have come to care about him, just a little. That’s why I want to see him be better than what he used to be, even if I can never forgive him for what he did.

Speaking of which…

“Then why did you try to kill Graves?” I ask. “If you cared about him, why would you want to do something like that?”

Nacht frowns. 

“That’s how I know I was real fucked up,” he says. “‘Cause you’re right. It makes no sense. I was just gonna lose everything.”

“Oh,” I say. I can’t think of anything better.

But if I pull out my magic book and put a little effort into studying tonight, well, it’s about time I take my magic to the next level, anyway. 

Nacht continues to send paper at my face throughout the night. I think he thinks he’s helping.

I guess he kind of is. Even if I can’t make his old newspaper bundles (which are surprisingly heavy, whoa) disappear, I’m getting better at keeping them away from me.

Eventually, Nacht stops on his own.

“You’re gettin’ sloppy now,” he complains. “I ain’t gonna sit here ‘n’ watch ya screw up. Go t’bed if you’re so tired.”

Ugh, he’s so bossy!

… But you know, now that he’s _admitted_ to caring about me, it kind of seems like he’s trying to boss me into looking out for myself.

I roll my eyes.

“Hey, Nacht, I care about you, too,” I say as I stand up. “So if you could try to not be an asshole, that would be really great. I would like that a lot.”

“Don’t push it!” Nacht growls. “Hurry up ‘n’ sleep already. I ain’t puttin’ up with you whinin’ ‘bout bein’ tired tomorrow.”

“I’m going, I’m going,” I say. But when I’m inside my room, I can’t help but smirk.

No amount of growling can cover up Nacht’s purring.


	8. Gladiolus

“Avery, oh my god, what _happened_ to you?” Reese asks one morning when I walk in. 

I guess that’s what happens when you go to work with a black eye.

“Uh…I was doing some magic…” I say. “And I, uh, accidentally slammed some trash in my eye. As you do.”

I don’t mention that it was Nacht’s fault. Apparently, I have to be prepared for sneak attacks now. Personally, I think swinging at me with a literal club made out of shredded paper the second I stepped out of my room was a bit too much, but I know that there’s no way Nacht is going to listen to me on this. He isn’t even apologetic!

“You didn’t need to come in like this!” Reese says. “No, seriously, you look like you got into a fight! You can’t serve the customers like that!”

“Too bad Finley isn’t here right now,” I say. “I could really use her beauty guru expertise.”

I mean, if I had the day off, I wouldn’t be here this early, either… And I’m also glad she doesn’t have to see this. It really isn’t a good look for me.

“Just go up and grab some makeup from Graves,” Reese suggests. “Seriously, even if you come back looking like a clown, it would be better than this.” He gestures to my face.

“Do you think we can charge extra if I make some balloon animals?” I ask with a laugh.

“I’ll put that idea in the suggestion box,” Reese replies, grinning. He reaches into his pocket like he’s looking for a pen.

Uhhhh, no.

“I was kidding!” I say. “Reese, if I ever have to wear anything more hideous than that uniform you tricked me into wearing the first day, I’m going to quit on the spot! I have standards, you know!”

“I don’t think you do,” Reese says, laughing as he gestures to my eye.

“Hey! Be quiet! I’m going to fix it!” I insist. I stick out my tongue at him for a good moment before I make my way to Graves’s apartment.

I knock once as a courtesy, but since Graves always expects us to come and go during working hours, I don’t bother to wait to barge in. 

Now, where would Graves keep makeup? Certainly not in the living room. He has a mirror over here, but the only things surrounding it are several cat figures. Are there more than usual? I remember he told me he made some of them with his magic, but I swear he didn’t have this many. And some of them aren’t even metal, so I know he didn’t make _those._ In fact, the number of plastic and paper cats actually outnumbers the number of metal ones.

I wonder if he’s buying these things when he goes out. If he’s spending money to expand his cat collection, I’m totally going to make fun of him. He’s got cat magic! We’re at a cat café! We get it, Graves, you like cats! 

Although I guess it’s better than buying more skeletons to keep in the basement… Now that I think about it, maybe I’d better check there, too. It’s been a while since Mason’s asked me to go down there. Who knows what’s shown up in my absence.

I stumble my way to the bathroom. Not only do I manage to find some makeup in my skintone (a palette of what looks to be _every skintone ever,_ actually. More evidence that Graves is looking out for all of us), but I find some tylenol, too. Excellent. My eye was starting to feel a little sore.

When I come back into the living room, I nearly trip over a cat. I look down to apologize to Dracula, but—

I sneeze.

When I open my eyes again, Graves is standing in front of me.

“Ah, Avery. You’re here early,” he greets.

“Yeah, I know it’s shocking, but I actually get to work on time some days,” I joke. “So anyway, what were you doing as a cat?” I grin. “Don’t tell me you sleep like that.”

“I assure you there’s nothing quite like a catnap,” Graves says. “But no, I was just getting back,” he gestures to the open window behind him.

Graves goes outside as a cat? I guess I _knew_ that, but it still seems strange.

“Isn’t it dangerous to jump through the window?” I ask. “What’s wrong with taking the stairs?”

Graves chuckles.

“It requires a bit of finesse, but in the long run, it’s safer to enter and leave this place as a cat during the night,” he says. 

So it’s for his safety… The kinds of things that Nacht has been telling me weigh on my mind.

“Do people threaten you when you walk around like normal?” I ask. “I mean… witches? Do they come after you?”

Graves’s smile morphs into an impassive expression. 

“Ah… I encounter other witches from time to time,” he says. “Though, yes, it occurs less frequently when I take on my feline form.”

“Okay, I see…” I say. “Uh, one more thing. Is it… Is it true that a lot of witches go out of their way to try to kill each other?”

Graves’s eyes widen.

“Where did you hear that?” he asks, his voice laced with concern. “I admit that witches are often… territorial… beings, but I can assure you that you have nothing to fear in this city. You are under my protection. No witch would dare to harm one of my apprentices. They would have to go through me.”

Yeah… That doesn’t make me feel any better.

“I wish I didn’t need protection…” I say. “Is that really the price of being a witch? You have to be prepared to fight other witches all the time?”

Graves hesitates.

“Witches are ordinary humans,” he says after a moment, “who happen to have the power to effectuate their wills through extraordinary means. You will find spiteful, greedy, and power-hungry witches in spades, but the same can be said of humans. The difference is that witches are not nearly as limited in their ability to get what they want. With enough creativity, witches can skirt around the very laws of the universe. That is what makes us dangerous,” he explains. “It is all too easy to develop a sense of entitlement. After all, most people in the world can do nothing to stop a witch. Unfortunately, this leads some to view other witches as obstacles in the way of them doing whatever they want. Worse, because of the nature of our magic, any witch who kills another automatically inherits any magical property the deceased witch held, thus giving the greedy and power-hungry an incentive to use their powers for injurious purposes.”

“I think i get it,” I say. ‘You mean that, like, a lot of people would do bad things if they had the opportunity. And witches have a lot of opportunities.’

“Our power is virtually infinite as long as it relates to our knacks,” Graves says. “It is up to every individual to choose what to do with it. I’m sorry to say that not everyone chooses well.”

I sigh.

“Well, thanks for telling it like it is,” I say. “Man, I guess I really do have to get serious about magic, don’t I? There’s only so much I can do by melting down old aluminum cans…”

“There’s no need to stress about it, Avery,” Graves says. “You’ll have my protection for as long as you want it. You’ve picked up the basics of magic very quickly, but remember that you are still only a beginner, and this café was always meant to be a safe haven for new witches. Experiment with your magic and learn at your own pace. Nobody is in a hurry for you to leave.”

“Thanks, Graves,” I say. “I’m definitely not ready to leave any time soon.”

But neither do I want to work at a cat café for the rest of my life.

I can’t just play around with trash sculptures forever. I mean, i can always go back to trash sculpting later, but for now…

‘Not bad, kitten,’ Nacht says that night when I use my magic to knock his floating newspaper bat down to the floor before he can hit me with it. The faded strips unravel as they fall to the ground, and I’m left with nothing but a big pile of papers in my living room.

But as I bend down to pick them up, I’m startled by a sudden hiss. The next thing I know, Nacht has leapt onto my back. His claws grip my hoodie, but luckily for me, he misses skin.

“What was that for?” I exclaim indignantly as I shake him off of me.

“Are ya kiddin’ me? If I was an enemy, you’d be dead now!” Nacht growls. “Never take your eyes off’a someone ‘til you’re damn sure they ain’t gonna hit ya anymore. I can’t believe I gotta tell ya that!”

“That’s not fair,” I complain. “You’ve been coming at me with paper trash! I didn’t know you were going to physically attack me!”

Of course, if I were ever really stuck fighting another witch, they probably wouldn’t tell me if they were going to punch me with a fist instead of magic…

Nacht gives me a pointed look.

“I get it! I get it!” I insist. “But I don’t even know hand-to-hand combat! Shouldn’t I wait until I get the whole magical fighting thing down, first?”

“You don’t got time for that,” Nacht says, flicking his tail dismissively. “Nobody’s gonna come at ya with just their magic. You wanna make it, you gotta learn hand-to-hand combat, and quick.”

“Okay, well, that might be a little difficult for you to teach me,” I say. “Considering that, you know, you don’t have hands and all.”

“You gotta get yourself a sparring partner,” Nacht says. “That’s how me ‘n’ Graves learned it back in the day.” His mouth twists into a grimace. “Anyway, get your girlfriend over here or somethin’. She likes playin’ fighters on those computer games’a yours.”

I really don’t think playing rpgs translates into wanting to fight in real life… but Finley is the only one I’d feel comfortable practicing with, anyway.

And that’s how Finley joins my strange lessons with Nacht. He doesn’t bother helping her with magic—her voice magic is completely unlike mine and Nacht’s, anyway—but when we all get together (in my apartment complex’s storm shelter, which is surprisingly but conveniently unsupervised), Finley and I start learning to spar under Nacht’s guidance.

Or, well, “orders” might be more the more accurate.term. Nacht is as demanding as ever.

Too bad me and Finley both hate being told what to do.

“I am not going for Avery’s ribs,” Finley insists. “That’s waaaay too much for a practice session.”

“Yeah, Nacht, how about you take it down a notch,” I agree. “We’ve only been at this for, like, what, two weeks?”

“How about both’a y’all do what I say,” Nacht says. “You’re wastin’ time!”

“But if we do what you say, one of us is going to end up in the hospital sooner or later,” Finley argues.

“Yeah, and it’s not going to be me or Finley,” i mutter.

“Don’t be stupid,” Nacht says. “Y’aint gonna use all your strength against each other. But I’m tellin ya, you don’t wanna wait ‘til someone’s got ya pinned down to realize that ya don’t know how you’re s’posed t’move.”

He’s got a point…

It would be a lot easier to bear if he wasn’t such a bossy jerk about it all the time, though.

“Fine, we’ll do it your way,” I say, crossing my arms. “But first, we’re taking a break, and you can’t stop us. Just because I think you’re right this time doesn’t mean you get to tell us what to do all the time, just so you know!’

“I ain’t tellin’ ya what to do,” Nacht says. “I’m tellin’ ya how to do what you’re doin’ the right way,” He shrugs.. “But I ain’t gonna complain about breakin’. Y’all’re so bad at this that it gives me a headache just lookin’ at ya.”

“Hey, Finley, let’s go grab some food,” I say, ignoring Nacht’s insult. “I bought those fruit parfait cups you like! They should give us, like, +20 hp at least.”

Finley grins at me as we head up to have our snack. I end up giving a cup to Nacht as well, even though he only begrudgingly eats it. When Finley asks me why I bothered, I tell her it was to shut him up.

In truth, though, it never even occurred to me that I didn’t have to give him anything at all. It’s not like he even asked… But this is something you do for your friends.

I just don’t know how to explain to Finley that Nacht’s moved from being nothing more than a nuisance to being someone I think of as a friend.

But I think she kind of gets it, anyway.

“Sweetheart, I don’t know how you can put up with him 24/7,’ Finley says later, just before she leaves, “but I’m glad it’s working out for you. To be honest, I don’t get why you suddenly became so dedicated to practicing, but for what it’s worth, I think you’re doing really well,” she says as she smiles at me.

“Maybe if I keep it up, we can be do that whole superhero thing you used to talk about,” I say with a grin. Back when we were first learning magic, Finley mentioned that we could probably use our powers to fight crime. I’d sort of brushed off the idea back then, but thinking about what Graves told me not that long ago… Well, there are plenty of nonmagical crimes committed in the city. It would probably be easier to catch the perpetrators if you’ve got magic…

“Oh! That’s right, you’ll look cooler as a sidekick if you can do some physical fighting!” FInley says, her eyes sparkling. “And it’s better if I can back up my magic with my fists, as well. When you put it like that, maybe this training we’re doing isn’t so bad!”

As soon as she hops out my window (as Jelly Donut, of course), Nacht turns to look at me incredulously.

“What’s the superhero bullshit you’re talkin’ about?” he asks.

“Uh, nothing…” I say. “I mean, it was just an idea. If we’re learning how to fight and use our magic anyway, we just thought we could, you know, help people and stuff.”

“I’m surprised you’d be up for that,” Nacht says. “You’re stupid, but not _that_ stupid. And what’s with the ‘sidekick’ crap? You ain’t the sidekick type.”

“I’m not exactly the superhero type, either,” I say, shrugging. “I mean, I don’t really care about saving the world. But I do care about Finley. And she… she has her reasons for doing this, okay? I’m happy to support her.”

Finley’s seen some shit in the world. Some of the comments she gets on her social media profiles are just cruel… and I know she tries to prevent me from knowing the worst of it!

So I actually think it’s kind of admirable that she wants to use her magic to save people from harassment. Admittedly, the idea of dressing up in costumes and doing flashy moves sounds like a lot of effort...… But I don’t know; I think Finley and I would make a great team.

“It’s real stupid of ya,” Nacht mutters. “I’m just sayin’.”

“You just hate the idea of helping people,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“That ain’t true,” Nacht argues. “I’m helpin’ you, ain’t I?”

“Hmm, yeah, you are,” I agree. “I mean, I’m thankful and all, but what are you looking for? A gold star for not being as much of an asshole as you could have been?” I laugh. “Come on, Nacht, would you ever stop to help a stranger?”

Nacht scowls.

“Ya know I wouldn’t,” he says.

“See, you hate the idea of helping people,” I laugh again. “Or you just hate people.”

“I sure ain’t got no love for humanity,” Nacht says. “‘The world’s full of shitty people.”

“Yeah, well, newsflash, you’re a shitty person, and Graves and I still helped you,” I say. “I don’t think Finley’s wrong to want to protect people. Sure, you might help some shitty people, and they might come stab you in the back. But that’s why you learn self-defense, right?” I say. “Like, I get what you’re saying, and honestly, i’d be terrified if you suddenly turned into a humanitarian. But just because you don’t want to help the public doesn’t mean Finley and I are stupid to do it.”

“Nah, but you’re stupid if you think you’re gonna make any kind’a difference,” Nacht says. He shakes his head. “I ain’t gonna convince ya; I get it. Are ya proud’a yourself? You can out-stubborn me.”

I grin.

“Pretty proud, yeah,” I say. “It’s nice to hear you admit it.”

We’re obviously going to have to agree to disagree. It’s true that nothing Nacht says is going to change my way of thinking, but I’d say the reverse is also true. Nacht’s an asshole and he enjoys it. I can say whatever I want to him, but he only does what he feels like, anyway.

But he can be a cynical pessimist all he wants as long as he behaves. And in his cat form, he’s kind of forced to behave, so it all works out.

It begs the question, though… If Nacht ever regains his human form, will he still behave? I don’t think he’ll kill again—he seems genuinely frustrated with his previous actions—but you don’t have to turn someone to rust to hurt them. Being a jerk _can_ be enough.

But I guess it doesn’t matter at the moment. If Nacht is trying to break the curse, I certainly can’t tell. 

… _Is_ he even trying? Or is he really okay with living his life like this?

“Hey, kitten, quit spacin’ out,” Nacht says, jumping up onto my shoulder and forcibly interrupting my thoughts.

“Yes, Nacht, I’m feeling perfectly fine; thank you for asking,” I say sarcastically as I turn to look at him. I think we roll our eyes at the same time, which is a little disconcerting.

“Ya look tired,” Nacht says, “which is good, ‘cause it means you ain’t slackin’ off.”

“I have never slacked off in my life,” I blatantly lie, shoving him off of me. 

“Just go the fuck to sleep already,” Nacht grumbles.


	9. Cypress

The great thing about having the day off is that I can sleep in as long as I want and then stop by the café on my own time.

Well, technically I don’t have to go to the café at all… But where else would I hang out? All of my friends are there!

And _because_ all of my friends are there, there’s absolutely no reason that my phone should be ringing this early in the morning.

No. Reason. At. All.

So why do I wake up to a ringing phone?

I scramble to pick it up. My hand slams the answer button before I can even think to look at who’s calling me. That’s why I’m surprised when i hear Graves’s voice.

“Avery,” he says solemnly. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I need to speak to Nacht as soon as possible.”

“Mm?” I mumble out. “Oh, uh… Should I put him on?’

Can I put a cat on the phone? Maybe if Nacht just sits on my shoulders…

“Ah, no, no,” Graves says, chuckling lightly. “I need to speak to him in person. That is to say… I’m afraid I need you to bring him to me. Or… perhaps I should come to you?”

“Hey, no, it’s cool,” I say, staggering out of my bed and nearly tripping over myself in an attempt to grab the nearest clean clothing. “I was going to come by later, but I can just come now! Just give me, like, 45 minutes. It’s fine!”

Except it’s not fine and it’s obviously Nacht’s fault, so I feel justified in being super angry at him!

“Don’t look at me like that!” Nacht complains as we begin our walk to the café. “I don’t know what he’s on about. For all I know, he’s decided to ditch his cat magic and change me back.”

“Yeah, no, I’m going to guess that he wouldn’t wake me up at six in the morning for that,” I ground out through gritted teeth.

“Well, I didn’t do nothin’, so you can keep guessin’,” Nacht says.

But he obviously did do something, because as soon as we make it to Graves’s apartment, Graves is hauling Nacht up to eye level, his hands gripping around Nacht’s neck.

“What did you do between the time I changed you into a cat and the time you came back here?” Graves says. His voice is so controlled that I would think he was calm if I couldn’t see his hands trembling.

“What d’ya think I did?” Nacht responds in the same level tone. “I fucked some cities up, what else?”

“Yes, I know that,” Graves says. “Considering it took me months to convince the leaders of those cities that they shouldn’t send people into my city to hunt you down, I am well aware of the damage you wrought. What I need is… details. What were you planning? What people did you come across? And, perhaps most importantly, what brought you back here?”

“I ain’t tellin’ you any’a that ‘n’ you know it,” Nacht scoffs. “The hell’re ya tryin’ t’do here, Graves?”

“Perhaps I failed to make myself clear,” Graves says. “You are currently safe in my city. Your answers to my questions will determine whether that continues to be the case. Answer me, Nacht.”

Nacht narrows his eyes.

“You wouldn’t let me die,” he says confidently. “You don’t got what it takes. You never did.”

“I cannot bring myself to harm you,” Graves says. “But I believe it would be easy to allow someone else to do so. I have already allowed so many innocent lives to perish by enabling you. Why should yours be worth more?”

For a moment, Nacht and Graves just stare at each other. Then, slowly, Nacht’s mouth twists into a scowl.

“You’re shit at makin’ decisions,” he says. “Even now, you’re makin’ me make your choice for ya. Okay! It’s fuckin’ wothless, but I’ll tell ya some shit! I was so damn pissed when ya kicked me out that I fuckin’ lost my shit. I left a trail’a blood ‘n’ rust across three cities, and when I thought they were gonna catch me, I hid out in this cat form ya gave me.”

“I see. That is indeed what I expected” Graves says quietly. “But I have one more question I need answered. Did you at any point venture to teach the rust magic to another? To someone who was willing to pay a high enough price? Or perhaps to someone who promised to follow you faithfully?”

“The fuck?” Nacht hisses. “I don’t need money, and I sure as hell wouldn’t show some power-hungry leech how to work my magic.”

“Ah, that’s right. You like feeling special,” Graves says, shaking his head. “You know perfectly well that the rust magic was never yours to claim.” He sighs. “Nevertheless, let’s continue for a moment. Is it possible that someone observed you during your killing spree and copied the rust magic without your knowledge? Please, Nacht, set aside your pride and tell me the truth. I know you do not care for the lives of others, but—”

“Shut up,” Nacht interrupts. “I don’t wanna hear your preachin’. I’m tryin’ to remember, damn it. I wasn’’t… Fuck, I wasn’t targeting anyone; I was just killin’ em as they got in my range, ‘and I… Shit, I dunno who I was killin’, much less if anyone saw me. I didn’t get caught, though.”

“They would not turn you in if they wished to copy you,” Graves says with a sigh. “I suppose that tells me enough. I had hoped you would remember with a bit more clarity, but considering the state you must have been in, I can hardly expect more from you.”

Graves’s eyes soften slightly, and places Nacht down onto the couch. Nacht immediately bristles.

“Get that high-’n’-mighty look off’a your face right now,” he growls. “And tell me why you’re askin’ me all this crap. It’s gotta be bad if it’s got ya talkin’.”

“It may be nothing, now,” Graves says. “Nevertheless, perhaps it would be beneficial for you to see… Ah, and Avery, you should see this as well.’

He gestures for us to follow him to his room. The first thing I notice when I look in is that the walls look like they were designed by a Victorian vampire in mourning… but I only have a second to appreciate this, because as soon as I look down, I stumble backwards with a shriek.

A dead body on the floor is _way_ more than I expected. Graves _wanted_ me to see this???

“ I don’t get it. It ain’t rusted,” Nacht says, stepping closer to the body. He sniffs the air and quickly draws his face back in disgust. “What the hell? This thing ain’t right!”

I reluctantly take a couple steps forward. Now that I’m looking, I can see a red-brown crust caked around the body’s lips like dried drool. Similar trails seem to stretch from the eyes, ears, and nose down the face. It’s like the person’s insides turned to liquid rust and just… burst out.

“This man was on the verge of death when I came across him,” Graves says, sounding regretful. “He was groaning, but I was unable to discern any words. I believe he wanted to attack me, but he could hardly move. Before I could do anything, he fell to the ground, coughing up blood mixed with solid flakes of rust. He seemed to be leaking rust from other orifices as well.” He gestures to the body’s face.

“That’s awful,” I murmur.

“There was nothing I could do,” Graves says. He meets my eyes as he does so, but I don’t need to see him to believe in the sincerity of his words. What _could_ he possibly have done in that situation?

“How’d he get like that?” Nacht asks as the fur on his tail begins to bristle. “Somebody reach down his throat and turn him? He ain’t rusted on the outside, ‘n’ that ain’t normal.” Suddenly, he lashes his tail. “You know it ain’t my fault, right? I ain’t never seen nothin’ like this, and I ain’t responsible for it!”

“I have not accused you,” Graves says. “It is impossible for you to have physically killed this man. That being said, in terms of moral responsibility, I think we both—”

“Skip the treatise and get to the important stuff,” Nacht interrupts. “You think ya know what’s up and you were askin’ me ‘cause you were hopin’ I’d tell ya you were right.” He flicks his tail impatiently. “Well, what is it?”

Graves glares at Nacht.

“Forgive me for wasting your precious time,” Graves says icily, “You will surely contest what I am about to say, but I believe that this man’s unfortunate death is the result of corrupted magic destroying him from the inside. I suspect that it festered inside him until it completely overpowered his brain to the point of… disintegration. And I do believe that this is the ultimate result of the prolonged use of any corrupted magic.”

He motions Nacht and I out of his room, and I’m relieved when he shuts the door, putting the dead body out of sight. Nacht doesn’t say anything until Graves turns around again. At that point, he jumps onto Graves’s shoulder and lets out a huff.

“I ain’t sayin’ you’re wrong,” Nacht grumbles.

Graves whips his head to the side.

“Really?” he asks in surprise.

Nacht shrugs.

“Except there’s one problem with your big theory,” he says. “I’ve been usin’ my rust magic for years and nothin’ happened to me.”

“I would hardly call it ‘nothing’—” 

“I meant that it couldn’t’a been more than a year, and this guy’s already dead. It ain’t like my magic!”

His words spark a memory in me, and I gasp suddenly.

“Do you think this is related to the rust we saw on that one building?” I ask Nacht. “It was in the shape of a handprint, but it didn’t spread when we prodded at it.”

“I have an explanation for Nacht’s issue,” Graves said. “And I believe it can also explain what you observed, Avery.”

“My magic’s different,” Nacht says.

Graves pauses.

“In a way, yes…” he says after a moment. “Your rust magic is a corruption of my metal magic—”

“Wait, what?” I interrupt. ‘How did that even happen?”

“Every witch is uniquely suited to their own knacks,” Graves says. “Trying to copy magic that you are unsuited to results in either failure, or…”

“Corruption,” I finish.

“Indeed,” Graves says. His voice is laced with guilt, and I can only assume that he’s blaming himself for what happened to Nacht.

Corruption, huh. It fits with what Nacht has told me. The first thing he told me was that he was a different person back when he was hunting Graves down… I guess corrupted magic could probably do that. 

But then, it doesn’t explain why Nacht apparently got better, while Mystery Witch over here died…

“So what’s different about this new rust magic?” I ask. “Why is it working differently?”

“As I said, Nacht’s magic is a corrupted version of mine,” Graves says. “If what I’m thinking is correct, this witch copied Nacht’s magic. Since he did not have the aptitude for it, it became corrupted… But Nacht’s magic was already corrupted. What happens when a corruption becomes more corrupted?” He sighs. “It would not surprise me if this version of rust destroys its host more quickly, even exponentially so.”

“If that dumbass was copyin’ me, I sure as hell didn’t show him nothin’,” Nacht says. “I was killin’ everyone real quick back then. Didn’t have it in me to show off. You reckon that’s why he didn’t know the rust’s supposed to be contagious?”

“That is what I thought, as well,,” Graves says. “Though perhaps the increased corruption prevented him from using the rust to the same extent you did. Either way, this man’s magic was indeed different from yours… although you are still indirectly responsible for what happened to him. Were it not for your going on a reckless killing spree, he would not have been able to copy your magic at all. Though, in that regard, ultimately I am responsible for what happened as well, as I was the original source of _your_ corruption. Indeed, the two of us share responsibility for the hundreds of lives—”

“I said I didn’t want a treatise,” Nacht snaps. “Get to the most important point! This guy’s dead now. Do we still got a problem or not?”

“It depends,” Graves says. “If he was the only one to attempt to copy your magic, then we should have no further issue. However…”

“Do you think there are other people involved?” I ask in concern. “Do you think he has a, uh, coven?”

“He is not from around these parts,” Graves says. “I truly do not know. There is currently no evidence to go on, so for the time being, I would merely ask you to be careful. And if you run into anything out of the ordinary, please alert me immediately.”

“Yeah, of course,” I agree.

“And I will investigate the matter on my own,” Graves says. “You need not be particularly concerned. Magical matters have a way of resolving themselves.”

But even as he says that, I can see Nacht scoff, and I get the feeling that Graves is only saying it to make me feel better.

Still, as much as I want to help Graves, there’s just not a lot I can do. The best thing is probably to keep an eye out for suspicious details, like he asked me to.

Well, then that’s exactly what I’ll do.


	10. Chervil

“Ya sure you wanna be out here at night, kitten?” Nacht asks as we sneak around the alleyways near where we once found the rusty handprint.

“Yes,” I say. “Are you going to argue with me?” I’m not going to let him talk me out of it, no matter what, though. If he doesn’t want to do this, I’ll just take him to my apartment and then head back out. 

Luckily, he doesn’t protest.

“Nah. I wanna snoop around, too,” Nacht says. “Just thought I’d have to do more t’convince ya.”

“I want to help Graves,” I say. “He shouldn’t have to do everything by himself. And it can’t be that dangerous just to gather information, right?”

“Not as long as you’re smart about it,” Nacht says. “If we come across anyone, you gotta run. You ain’t good enough to fight yet, and I ain’t havin’ ya kill us both ‘cause ya wouldn’t get out’a the way.”

“No worries here,” I agree. “I’m no zombie hunter. Just a spunky amateur detective.”

I laugh, and Nacht snorts in amusement. 

But all jokes aside, finding information isn’t as easy as TV crime dramas would have you believe.

“This is the spot, right?” I ask, pointing to the steel wall of the building beside me. “There’s nothing here. Even the rust from before must have been cleaned up…”

“Would you be happy with a bunch’a rust on your building? The owner would’a cleaned it up quick,” Nacht says. ‘But let’s look around the place. If this witch was messed up in the head, there’s a lot’a magical evidence he could’a left lyin’ around.”

“Is that what happened to you?” I can’t help but ask, my curiosity getting to me. “Did other witches track your magic or something? You said you used this cat form to hide…”

“It was somethin’ like that. Ya can’t really _track_ magic, but ya get this sense… Just read your book, kitten, ‘cause there ain’t no good way for me to explain it,” Nacht says. “But you can hide it if ya don’t get sloppy. Reckon this guy would’a been sloppy, though.”

“Because the corruption was messing with his mind…” I murmur, sighing. “Nacht, why did you let the corruption get to you? I mean, it seemed to sneak up on this new guy, but you said yourself that you used your rust magic for years. Surely you must have realized it was affecting you?”

Nacht scowls.

“You ain’t gonna get it, but I wanna tell ya before Graves gets his goody-two-shoes version in your head,” he says. “Things were great when Graves just had his cat magic, ‘cause even if we were both weak as shit, at least we were weak as shit together. Then he went and got metal magic, and I didn’t get shit. But he let me copy it. No matter what he says he did, I’m tellin’ ya he let me. Showed me shit ‘n’ everything. Then halfway through he just stopped. Wouldn’t show me nothin’ no more. Said it was wrong and I wasn’t doin’ it right and it was hurtin’ me and it made him oh-so-sad. He always thought he knew best.” 

Nacht lets out a short, frustrated growl. 

“I had to prove him wrong,” he continues. “I started practicin’ on my oen. I was gonna show him he wasn’t better than me. That’s when the magic started turnin’ rusty. It was fuckin’ cool, and it was strong against Graves’s metal. He told me it was wrong and it was screwin’ me up, but I figured he was jealous’a me. Plus he gets this nasty attitude when he thinks he’s morally superior or whatever. But I was determined t’show him I was right. And he was drivin’ me so damn nuts that I didn’t notice anything else was goin’ wrong.” 

Again, he growls. 

“It was only when I started hidin’ as a cat that I got to thinkin’ again. I guess the rust stops fuckin’ with ya if ya stop fuckin’ with it,” he says, shaking his head. “But I ain’t ever gonna say he was right. He already knows he was right.”

Well… that’s certainly a story.

“So what I’m hearing is that Graves tried to save your life,” I say. “And then when you wouldn’t listen to him, he still saved your life by cursing you. You know you’d be dead by now if you hadn’t had to stop using rust magic as a cat!”

Nacht huffs.

“I ain’t tellin’ _you_ you’re right, either,” he says.

“Because I already know?” I suggest.

Nacht doesn’t answer me.

“There’s nothin’ on this street,” he says instead. “Go to the next one.”

At the end of the day, we don’t come across anything particularly helpful. At one point, we find some rusty nails outside a shop, but then the shopkeeper runs out to tell us (well, me; she can’t exactly lecture a cat) that a bunch of teenagers dropped them and that she’d call the police if she saw any more of us hanging around. It sounds pretty suspicious to me, but it really isn’t enough information for us to go on.

Eventually, we return to my apartment without making any discoveries So much for helping Graves. 

Then again, it might be a good thing. We don’t _want_ there to be any more rust zombies running around, after all.

And besides, I still learned something tonight.

I may never fully understand what happened between Graves and Nacht, but now I can imagine just how much Graves has done to help Nacht. And while Nacht sometimes talks as if he despises Graves, he still told me before that he thinks of Graves as one of the only good things in the world (along with me, but I think it’s safe to say _our_ relationship is very different)

It’s obvious to me that they still have feelings of love for each other. But I don’t know if anything will ever come of it.

I don’t know if anything _can_ ever come of it.


	11. Agrimony

“Don’t you think you should at least thank Graves?” I end up asking Nacht. “After all he’s done for you!”

“I ain’t gonna give him the satisfaction,’ Nacht says. “I’m tellin’ you, he’s gotta know already.”

“You should tell him anyway!” I argue. “He deserves some satisfaction! And how hard can it be? Just go up to him and say ‘Gee, Graves, I’m real grateful that yuh gave me an alternative tuh turnin’ into a rust zombie and havin’ all my brains leakin’ out of my face holes. That was good of yuh.’”

“That sounds nothin’ like me,” Nacht insists. “And I ain’t doin’t it anyway, I don’t need him lookin’ down on me “

Ugh! With that kind of attitude, reconciliation is just not possible! Happy memories and $2 gifts aren’t going to get Nacht anywhere if he can’t be bothered to make a simple expression of his feelings… 

But I know he’s thankful… I can tell, because he hasn’t argued with me on _that_ point.

“Then _I’ll_ thank him,” I say. “It won’t mean as much. But I’ll thank him for saving you, because I’m grateful I got to meet you as a person instead of the monster you used to be.”

I cross my arms defiantly as Nacht scowls at me.

“Do whatever the hell ya want,” he says.

Of course, I was going to do it without his permission, regardless.

A week passes before I get the chance to talk to Graves, though. I try visiting him on my breaks, but he’s out—investigating the zombie situation, I assume. 

Maybe I should have used the extra time to figure out what I was going to say, because when I do finally get the chance to talk to him, I find myself a little overwhelmed.

“You said you wanted to talk about the rust?” Graves prompts me, obviously trying to be helpful.

‘Uh, yeah, that’s right…” I say. “It’s just, um…”

I don’t know how to say what I’m trying to. I’m not doing this just because Nacht won’t; I really am grateful that Graves helped Nacht. Not only because Nacht is alive now, but because so many people wouldn’t have bothered at all. I think his heart has the same thing in it that Finley’s does; the same kind of goodness.

Buuut maybe that’s not the kind of thing you tell your boss. I don’t know…

‘Avery,” Graves says gently. “I didn’t want this to happen… If you’re frightened—”

Ah, screw it. There’s no point in holding back.

I wrap my arms around Graves’s back, giving him a hug that’s as much for me as it is for him.

‘I wanted to thank you,” I say, pulling away after a moment to meet Grave’s widened eyes. “You may not have been able to save that man you found, but you did save Nacht from a fate like that. He’s too much of a stubborn jerk to say it to you, but he’s grateful, too. I know it’s weird that I’m _happy_ to know him, but, uh…”

“No, I understand the feeling,” Graves says, smiling slightly. “And it does bring me joy to see the two of you getting along. I… have desperately hoped to see him doing better for so long. I fear he will always loathe me, but better that he be alive to do so.”

“Well, you saw for yourself that he’s still The Worst,” I say, my voice dropping to a mutter before coming back to normal. ‘But I don’t think he actually despises you. Like, he sounded more like he was jealous of you. Jealous and trying to prove himself to you. I mean, all he actually proved is that he’s an asshole, but still.”

Graves lets out an exhale. I can’t figure out if it’s supposed to be a laugh or a sigh.

“I think you are overestimating the amount of care he feels towards me,” he says. “I doubt he would feel much of anything if I told him _I_ despised _him_. Indeed, I have tried as much many times, to no avail. He only cares about having control. What I feel does not seem to affect him.”

I can’t believe that from someone who sees Graves as one of the only good things in the world… but I don’t think it would be right for me to tell Graves about that.

“But you don’t really despise him, do you…” I murmur. 

It’s not a question, and I’m not surprised at Graves’s response.

“I do not,” he says. “Though it would perhaps be easier if I did.’

He exhales again, and this time it’s clearly a sigh.

“Nevertheless, I do believe we will be able to move on with our lives now,” he says. “Without the corrosion affecting his mind, I am confident he will realize this is not worth his time. We have done nothing but nearly ruin each other. It is for the best that we finally part ways.”

“But didn’t you say he’s going to be hunted down if he leaves this city?” I ask. I don’t say it, but I’m inclined to believe Nacht that Graves wouldn’t just let him die.

“Ah. That is taken care of,” Graves says. “In truth, it has been taken care of for quite some time. I should not have antagonized Nacht, but I couldn’t resist.”

“Nah, he deserved it,” I say. “But how’d you manage to get him off the hook? Isn’t he a wanted criminal at this point?”

“The magical legal system is rather different from the one you are used to,” Graves says. “Witches like to deal with things practically, if at all possible.”

‘Okay…” I say. ‘So… What did you do?”

Graves’s lips thin with unhappiness.

“The idea of ‘a life for a life’ is the predominant rule,” Graves says. “Nacht was wanted for 20 deaths. I captured 20 criminals, plus one more to account for the life they wanted from Nacht. And this was acceptable to the judge.”

“Oh…” I say, a little disturbed. “That’s…”

“Yes,” Graves agrees. “I had no choice… I…”

Right. It was that, or Nacht.

Technically, there _was_ a choice, but not a good one.

“In any case, I will tell Nacht to leave soon,” Graves says. “I truly desire the best for him, and I do not see how he can possibly find it here.”

I shouldn’t feel sad. This whole situation was never about me. Nacht only came here for protection, and Graves only wanted to help him. Now that the matter is settled, they probably should get away from each other. I mean, I can definitely see why that’s a good idea.

But I do feel sad. For all three of us.


	12. Butterfly Weed

“What’d’ya mean it’s time for me t’go?” Nacht asks, scowling. “Where do I got t’go?”

Yeah, so, in an unsurprising twist, Nacht isn’t a big fan of Graves’s whole “telling him to leave” idea.

“Nacht, please—” Graves starts.

“I’m bein’ real serious, Graves. Why’re ya springin’ this on me? I ain’t even been doin’ nothin’. Ask the kitten!”

“Uhhhh, don’t bring me into this,” I say quickly.

“I offered you protection that you no longer need,” Graves says. “Take a moment and think. What is there for you here?”

“What’s there for me anywhere else?” Nacht argues. “Besides, you can’t kick me out when I ain’t even stayin’ with ya. If anyone’s kickin’ me out, it’s gotta be the kitten.”

“Hey,” I interject. “Did you not just hear me say—”

“So d’ya want me t’leave, Avery?” Nacht asks, and I choke on my own words.

It’s the first time he’s ever used my name.

“I-I wasn’t even sure you knew my name,” I say instead of answering. I’m not stalling, I’m just… surprised.

“‘Course I do,” Nacht says. “But names’ve got power, and I’ve been tryin’ not t’wear yours out.”

“Names have power? That’s really a thing?” I ask.

Is that why I feel kind of weird right now? If so, I never realized magic could feel so much like a stomachache.

“Graves, ain’t ya teachin’ your apprentices _nothin’_?” Nacht asks.

“It’s a very self-motivated course of study,” Graves says.”They come to me with questions and I try to provide guidance.”

Nacht rolls his eyes, and before I can point out that I’d like a little guidance right about now, his eyes flicker back toward me.

“So you gonna answer me or not?” he asks.

Damn it, Nacht, why are you doing this? Do you even really want to be here at all?

“Would you listen to me if I told you to leave?” I ask.

“Sure,” Nacht says, shrugging casually.

Ugh, I should kick him out just for that.

But…

_You ‘n’ Graves are the only good things in this world, far as I can see. Be nice if y’all’d stick around, is all I’m sayin’.”_

Damn it, Nacht may have led Graves to believe he doesn’t care about anyone, but I really, really think he does! But what happens if Nacht leaves and goes off somewhere where Graves and I aren’t around? Where he actually doesn’t care about anything or anyone? And if he leaves the city and can turn back into a human, he’ll be able to use his rust magic again. It would be really dumb for him to use it, but if he doesn’t _care,_ then…

“Who knows what you’d do if Graves and I weren’t around to watch you,” I say, glancing away. “And besides, you said you’d teach me how to flip someone bigger than me. You can’t do that if you’re not here. So, no, I don’t want you to leave. But…” I glance at Graves. “If Graves really wants you gone, I’m going to back him up.”

The thing is, I don’t think Graves really wants him gone. Maybe it _would_ be better if they left each other alone. But that’s not what either of them _want._

“You’ve been teaching Avery?” Graves asks Nacht in surprise.

“Somethin’ like that,” Nacht says, swishing his tail. ‘Only ‘cause it’s a damn shame you ain’t givin’ these kids combat trainin’ yourself. You want ‘em to make it past their newbie phase, don’t ya?”

“It is too much to throw at a new witch all at once,” Graves argues. “Nevertheless… I am surprised you would agree to something like this.”

“Um, actually, _I_ agreed,” I point out before Nacht can respond. “He just started being bossy and told me to train with Finley. And that’s _after_ he forced me into practicing magic by throwing paper at me all day.”

“Is that so?” Graves asks. A fond smile flickers over his features before he closes his eyes.

After a moment, he speaks again.

“I see I did not understand the whole situation,” he says, sighing. “Forgive me. Nacht, I did not realize that you had a reason to be here beyond escaping retribution.”

“If I just wanted that, I’d’a fled the country,” Nacht says. “Nah, I got plenty’a stuff t’do here.”

“And… this is despite the fact that you’re a cat?” Graves asks.

Personally, I think that’s a good point. Sure, I don’t want Nacht to leave, but I’m surprised that he doesn’t want to! Back when I first heard about the cat curse, I would have done anything to get away from it. I only grew one whisker, but it still gives me nightmares!

“Hey, now that’s your fault,” Nacht says. “If you’d just break the curse—”

“I will not,” Graves says firmly.

“Then if ya’d just tell me what I gotta do, I’d do it,” Nacht continues.

Graves shakes his head.

“You could figure it out if you put your mind to it,” he says. “There are only two things I desire from you, and only one which i have any hope of receiving.’

“I can’t give ya shit if I don’t know what the hell you’re on about,” Nacht growls. “For fuck’s sake, Graves, just speak English already!”

“I will not give you the answer,” Graves insists. “You have stayed in this form this long. Should you tire of it, you are obviously free to leave, assuming you truly cannot find it in yourself to break the curse.”

“Fine then,” Nacht says. He steps closer to my seat, then jumps on my shoulders in a way that usually means he wants to leave. “Maybe me ‘n’ Avery ‘n’ Finley’ll all ditch ya someday.”

“You’d better not be planning to third wheel us for the rest of your life,” I mutter.

But I do plan to leave this city someday. Hopefully with Finley. And would I let Nacht come along with me? Ugh, yeah, I guess.

I stand up carefully, making sure not to accidentally knock Nacht off.

“Uh, I guess we should go,” I say, glancing awkwardly at Graves. “Uh, I’m sorry about the… whole thing.”

Really, there’s just no way I can apologize for essentially undermining Graves’s whole reason for asking me to come in.

But Graves doesn’t look at me angrily. He stands up, takes my hands, and shakes his head.

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” he says. “I am happy that you are there for each other.”

Well, for someone who just professed to be happy, he sure doesn’t look it, but…

“Uh, yeah…’ I say. “Uh, so, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow, boss?”

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Avery,” he agrees.

… Why did that feel so weird?

“‘Cause he held your hand,” Nacht grumbles when I ask him that very question back at the apartment. 

“That’s not it. He was just trying to reassure me because he I thought he was mad at me,” I say dismissively. “I’m talking about his tone. Don’t you think it was weird?”

“Kitten, if I could figure out what Graves was thinkin’, I’d’a broke this curse’a his already,’ Nacht says. “I ain’t kiddin’; you’ll never figure him out. He thinks too much ‘n’ he thinks he knows everything ‘n’ you just gotta go with it. He won’t listen.”

“You’re one to talk about not listening,” I say, punctuating my statement with a yawn. 

I crawl onto my couch, burying my head into one of the cushions. This whole deal is stressing me out, and I could really go for a nap right now.

“You ain’t even listenin’ to me _right now_ ,” Nacht says, hopping up on the arm of the couch by my head.

‘Shhh. Sleep time,” I mumble.

I don’t know if Nacht goes to sleep or not, but at any rate, he lets me doze off without further comment.


	13. Borage

A month passes, and nothing else weird happens with Graves. I see him around the café sometimes, and we speak to each other like usual.

Nacht’s as insufferable as ever, only now I’m burdened with the terrible knowledge that I’m attached to him. And I guess he gets a little… well, not _nicer,_ exactly, but he kind of starts arguing less with me and Finley. He helps us train, the three of us play video games and make snarky comments, he still helps me with magic sometimes, and dang it, he’s a better friend to me than anyone I met back in high school ever was.

Maybe that’s why I can’t help but notice that he looks… pained… every so often. When we pass by Graves at break time. When Finley and i cuddle up next to each other. When Finley gets Akiya and the Bl@st Zone protagonist to hook up.

Dang it, Nacht. Really?

“Are you, like, pining over Graves?” I ask him one day. “Didn’t you have some plan to woo him back before? With gifts or something?”

Nacht glares at me, but it doesn’t seem like his heart’s in it.

“I gotta quit lyin’ ‘bout it to myself, kitten,” he says. “He ain’t comin’ back to me like he used to. He really fuckin’ ended it.”

“Uh, yeah… He definitely did that,” I say. And years ago, from what I understand.

“He doesn’t miss me or nothin’,” Nacht continues. “He doesn’t want to see me. He’s really over it.”

“Well, I’m not sure I’d go _that_ far,” I mutter, but Nacht just keeps talking.

“I can’t stay away from him. I thought it was the same for him. But he just passed me off to you,” he says. “Not that I’m dissin’ ya or nothin’. Just sorta thought this thing with you was temporary. Sorta thought he’d want me back with him eventually.’

“Okay, look,” I say. “If you were expecting everything to be like it used to be for you two, yeah, you’re wrong. You’ve got to let that mess go. But I don’t think either of you want to just walk away from each other.”

“I’m not followin’ ya, kitten,” Nacht says.

“You used to be together,” I explain, “but that doesn’t automatically mean you love him! And you haven’t done anything to show him that you do, so why do you think he’d just come back to you on his own?”

“Well, he ain’t givin’ me a lot t’go on!” Nacht protests. “I came here for him; why ain’t that enough?”

“Because you came here and then immediately demanded that he help you,” I say. “Which he did! Not only did he save your life, he offered you protection! He took care of your legal problems for you! You’re completely free to go do whatever you want with your life. And he did it all without expecting anything from you. Does that not show how much he cares about you? And you’ve done nothing to make him think you even appreciate it!”

Nacht’s fur begins bristling, and he paws at the ground agitatedly.

“And how’m I s’posed t’do that?” he asks. “If he doesn’t get it already…”

“You tell him you’re grateful! Or you tell him you’re sorry! Or you tell him everything you’ve ever told me!” I say. “I mean, you made me like you, and I never wanted to. Graves wants to like you. You just need to prove that he has any reason to.”

“Talkin’ ain’t exactly our strong suit,” Nacht says. 

And what an understatement _that_ is.

“But I guess I could try,” Nacht continues. “Ya… Ya really think it’ll work, kitten?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. “But I think he would be happy to hear it from you, regardless.’

“‘Kay. Then let’s go,” Nacht says, hopping onto my shoulders. I stumble forward a little from the unexpected force.

“What? RIght now?” I ask. “But he gave us all the day off! I don’t want to go in just for you!”

“I wanna get him flowers. Real ones,” Nacht says. “We ain’t gonna have time if we’re goin’ before your shift.”

“So what you’re saying is that I have to spend money for you again,” I say, rolling my eyes.

“You don’t _gotta_ spend—”

“I’m not risking prison for you, Nacht,” I insist. “Keep your fake money to yourself.”

Despite my words, I’m happy that Nacht is actually going to do this. He seems to hate the very concept of morality, but I think even he can see that he owes something to Graves. Honesty, if nothing else.

There’s a florist not too far from my apartment. It’s a little past the café, and I glance at it as we pass. I wonder if Graves will mind us coming to the back entrance, directly to his apartment.

This is a strictly personal matter, after all.

I’m so caught up in my thoughts that I’m not really paying attention when I turn the corner into one of the alleyways. 

I do, however, feel Nacht stiffen.

“That your familiar?” I hear a deep voice growl.

My eyes snap up towards the roof of one of the buildings. A witch with wild, brown hair sits there, legs dangling off the edge.

In a flash, the witch is in front of me.

“Name’s Michael,” he says, holding out a hand. He seems about my age. “Nice to meetcha, hot stuff.”

I do _not_ like the look in this guy’s eyes. I automatically take a few steps back.

Michael doesn’t appreciate it.

“Hey,” he shouts,reaching for my hand. He only manages to graze my fingers, but his touch is… freezing.

I watch in horror as flakes of rust crumble off my fingertips.

“Where did ya learn that?” Nacht hisses.

It’s a testament to just how far this guy is gone that he doesn’t even question my talking “familiar.” He just barks out a laugh.

“You like it? The old leader of the coven taught me,” Michael says, grinning. “But he up and left, so it’s my coven now. You want to see, sweet cheeks?”

He steps towards me with a cruel smile. In the light, his brown irises seem to take on a reddish hue.

“Run, kitten,” Nacht hisses.

Yeah. That would be a good thing to do right now.

I spin around, but I can barely put two strides between us before Michael suddenly flashes before me.

“Teleportation magic?” I ask as casually as I can manage. “That’s, uh, pretty cool.”

“Isn’t it?” Michael says, smirking. “It keeps my prey from getting away from me.”

“I can see how that would work…” I say, chuckling out of sheer panic. I take several steps backwards, only to hit a firm body.

“Come on now, can’t you make a sexier pose?” Michael says into my ear. “You’d make such a hot trophy.”

I jolt away from him with a shriek. He flinches at the sound, and a drop of rust-colored liquid trickles out of one of his ears.

This only enrages him.

“You fucking banshee!” he shouts. “Let’s see you scream with your mouth rusted shut!”

He swings his arm at me… but it misses.

Because Nacht jumps onto it, sinking his teeth and claws into bare skin.

“Augh!” Michael groans in pain. ‘Stupid-ass familiar—”

“I ain’t no familiar,” Nacht growls. “I’m the damn witch who invented rust magic. You think you’re gonna get the best’a me?”

Michael places a hand on Nacht’s back. Rust flakes from his fingers, but it slides over Nacht’s fur like oil refusing to mix with water. He angrily throws Nacht to the ground.

“Kitten, get the fuck outta here,” Nacht yells at me.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget the image of him at that moment, standing in front of me with bristling fur and unsheathed claws. 

He’s actually going to try to protect me.

“Don’t you dare let him kill you!” I shout as I run away.

For a moment, I’m terrified that Michael will just teleport to me again. But all I hear is yowling and cursing. I guess he’s too distracted to teleport.

I feel a slight sense of relief as soon as I turn onto a different street, but it doesn’t last very long. 

I have to get help. I have to get _Graves._

My legs carry me to the stairs outside Graves’s apartment faster than I ever knew I could move. If I could think straight, I’d pull out my phone and call—but how could I possibly think at a time like this? Instead, I pound my fists on the door until it suddenly swings open.

“Rust zombie!” I choke out before Graves can say anything. “He’s— Please, you have to—”

Graves’s eyes widen, and he pulls me inside.

“You’re okay, Avery,” he says soothingly. “Just tell me what happened—”

“We don’t have time!” I exclaim. “He… He was too close, and…” I hold up my rusty fingertips. “And Nacht jumped on him, because he can’t be turned to rust, but— But Graves, we have to go help him! The guy, he’s… Well, you can tell his mind’s messed up from the rust. And he can teleport! It’s not safe!”

Graves’s eyes harden into steel.

“I see,” he says. “I will take care of this.”

It takes him only an instant to grab his sword, and then we’re both running out the door. The sun is too hot on our backs as we race through the deserted alleyways. This seems like the kind of thing we should be doing in the dead of night… but then, I’m guessing Michael didn’t put a whole lot of foresight into planning a fight.

We can hear the fight before we can see it. Thunderous footsteps and furious hissing echo down the street. As we turn the corner, we spot the two combatants. Papers litter the ground beneath their feet, and I assume Nacht has been trying to fight with his magic. Rust, too, creeps along the ground, as well as the surrounding walls. The corner of one of the building’s roofs seems to have completely crumbled off. Michael has obviously been using his magic, too, ineffective as it may be on Nacht himself.

And between the two, Nacht definitely looks worse. He’s breathing heavily, and there are a few scratches on his side that look painful.

Both of them turn to face as as we approach. Nacht narrows his eyes when he spots me, but before he can say anything, there’s a flash of light, and all of a sudden, Michael is right in front of us.

“Hey, thanks for bringing me the big boss, hot stuff,’ he says, giving me a wink that makes me want to throw up. “Hey, hey, if I kill all of you, I’ll be the new big boss of the city! What a huge upgrade!”

“You will not live long enough to enjoy it,” Graves says. Although he appears calm, he shifts himself so that he’s standing in front of me like a shield. “Please, listen to reason. The magic you are using is killing you inside. Surely you can feel it. But you are still so young. I am sure you can recover if you merely—”

“Your monologue’s too long,” Michael grows, lunging forward with outstretched hands.

“You ain’t touchin’ him over my dead body!” Nacht screeches, running forward and sinking his claws into Michael’s leg.

“You little shit!” Michael shouts. “You want to die first? That can be arranged!”

He clutches Nacht by the neck and yanks him upward, fury blazing in his reddish eyes.

“B-Bastard,” Nacht gets out before the rest of his breath is strangled out of him.

Here’s the thing: Nacht is immune to becoming rust. He’s not immune to good old-fashioned choking.

And I realize something about Graves right then.

He would die for me.

But for Nacht, he would kill.

Graves is so quick with his sword that I don’t even understand what’s happening until it’s sticking out of Michael’s body.

Blood gushes out, staining Graves’s clothes, but Graves doesn’t seem to notice. Michael unclenches his hands, dropping Nacht to the ground. Immediately, Graves is on his knees, shielding him with his body.

I watch as Michael also sinks to the ground. Rust-colored liquid flows from his eyes like tears, and he makes a pained sound as he coughs up a mixture of blood and flakes of rust. The rust on the ground and walls begins to dissolve into nothingness, and the feelings in my fingers returns as the rust falls away from them as well. Michael makes another gurgled groan, and I quickly turn my attention back to Graves and Nacht before I become too sick. My stomach already hurts from the fear and the running and the scent of blood. I don’t think I can stand to look too closely at the corpse.

“Glad ya did that,” Nacht murmurs woozily. “Thought my time might’a been up.”

“You were right before. I could never let you die,” Graves breathes. “Not if I could save you.”

Suddenly, he glances up.

“Avery,” he says, like he’s just remembering I’m there. “Are you hurt? I should have told you to run…”

“I-I’m fine,” I say. My voice is a little shaky, but who can blame me? “I’m barely hurt at all… thanks to the two of you.”

Rusty fingertips (which are no longer a problem) aside, I didn’t even get scratched.

“Hey,” Nacht hisses. Graves and I both turn our gazes back to him. “ _I_ ain’t that fine. Think I’m gonna pass out.”

“I’ll take you home,” Graves says.

Nacht squirms a little, turning so he can put a paw on Graves’s cheek.

“Take it easy if you don’t want to make it worse,” Graves admonishes gently.

“I’m tryin’ t’see your face good before I pass out,” Nacht grumbles. “Ain’t that how it’s s’posed t’be? Ya look at the love of your life before darkness claims ya, or somethin’?”

Graves exhales softly. Nacht closes his eyes then, and I guess he falls unconscious, because he doesn’t say anything, even when Graves stands up and cradles him in his arms.

“Uh,” I say hesitantly as I follow behind him. “What are we going to do about… you know…?”  
I gesture to the dead body, and the blood, and the sword.

“You don’t need to worry, Avery,” Graves says. “I… know how to deal with it.”

Part of me can’t help but wonder what exactly Graves has done in his life to acquire such knowledge… but does it really matter right now? I’m so, so tired, and I’m just ready for everything to be okay.

So I follow him back to his apartment and collapse all too quickly on his couch.


	14. Witch Hazel

It’s night when I wake up. I guess I must have slept through the rest of the day. 

I still feel pretty drained, honestly. I could use several more hours of sleep, preferably in my own comfortable bed.

But there’s something more important than sleep pressing me right now. I need to know how Nacht is doing.

It’s completely dark here in the living room, but I can see a sliver of light coming from the slightly-ajar door to Graves’s room. I can hear Graves’s voice, too—it’s steady and calm, but too quiet for me to make out what he’s saying.

When Nacht replies, on the other hand…

“Ya thought _what?_ ” he exclaims loudly.

Again, I can’t quite make out Graves’s reply.

It’s too much for my curiosity. I don’t plan to make a habit of eavesdropping or anything, but I can’t resist the urge to get a little closer to the door.

“There ain’t been a second I ain’t been desperate for ya,” Nacht says. ‘I used t’think ya wouldn’t be able t’make it without me, but now I’m thinkin’ it’s the other way around. I’d be dead a bunch’a times over without ya, and there’s nothin’ I can tell ya except I shoulda listened to ya more. You’ve always been the most important thing t’me, but maybe I did a crappy job of showin’ ya.”

“Obsession is not the same as love,” Graves says, “and it took me a long time to realize it.”

“But I do love ya, though,” Nacht insists. “I know I talk a lot, but I wouldn’t just say somethin’ like that!”

“You did not ever say it to me until today,” Graves says. “And you said it while bleeding and lightheaded. I was terrified it would be the last thing you ever said.”

“I wasn’t gonna die after everything,” Nacht says. “I ain’t okay with leavin’ ya. Look, I ain’t a soft ‘n’ fluffy person, but I love ya lots. I’ll prove it to ya if ya let me. Just let me stay with ya.”

“I believe Avery already decided that you could stay—”

“I ain’t talkin’ ‘bout that,” Nacht says. “Besides, the kitten’s got dreams and ain’t gonna stick around here forever. You were always wantin’ t’settle down, and now you got yourself this place here, and all I’m sayin is that I wanna settle down with ya. I don’t care if I gotta be a cat the rest’a my life; I just don’t wanna be away from you no more.”

There’s a pause before Graves speaks.

“You are fine with being a cat, truly?” he asks. “Because regardless of my feelings, I will not simply remove the curse for you.”

“Well I ain’t _fine_ with it, but I know what I’m doin’,” Nacht says. “Bein’ without you sucks a whole lot more than bein’ a cat does.”

“If that is how you feel…” Graves murmurs. “Then I do not think I can bear the pain of staying away from you. I love you much too deeply to deny it.”

My heart feels warm from their words. I really, really hope they can make each other happy this time. I want them both to find happiness.

I don’t hear anything else, so I guess it’s probably a good time to interrupt them. I wait just a second so they can have their moment or whatever, and then I peek my head through the crack in the door.

I give a little cough, and Graves looks up the sound. Nacht swivels his head around, but otherwise makes no move to remove himself from Graves’s arms, which press him close to Graves’s chest.

“I’m glad to see you’re okay,” I say.

Graves, like me, appears uninjured. Nacht, on the other hand, has bandages all over him… but it certainly doesn’t seem to have ruined his day.

“Same to you, kitten,” Nacht says. “That sure was some fuckin’ asshole, huh?”

“Yeah…” I agree.

Michael was an asshole. I don’t know what he was like before the rust got to him, and I don’t know what he might have been like if he was able to stop using it. But he was definitely about to kill us. He was literally seconds away from killing Nacht. And so I just can’t feel too sad about his death, no matter how much of a tragedy it may have been.

“Um, but… Do you think the problem’s actually solved?” I ask. “I mean, we thought it was over last time, but then this guy showed up. And he said he was the new leader of his coven, didn’t he? What if someone else pops up to take his place?”

“I do not believe anyone will rise to challenge us in our own territory for quite some time,” Graves says. “That tends to be the case when a killing occurs. Nevertheless, for the sake of any other members who may have started practicing with corrupted magic, I would like to find the coven and have a discussion with them.”

“I doubt they’re gonna listen, but you can try,” Nacht says. “You killed their leader. Maybe that’ll strike some fear into ‘em.”

“Please, be careful,” I say, sighing. “The world of witches really is full of danger, isn’t it…”

“It is as I told you before. Not everyone uses their power responsibly,” Graves says. “I believe this coven is composed of young witches who have never had to face responsibility for their actions. I hope that this will be enough to convince them to change their ways.”

“Well, I bet ya got whatever property the lot of ‘em had,” Nacht says, snorting. “You oughtta be able t’convince ‘em t’give up their rust magic if ya hold that over ‘em.”

Graves sighs.

“I would prefer not to resort to bribery, but yes, I may have to do that,” he says. “In any event, I cannot do much of anything tonight. I do not wish to put any more stress on either of you. Nacht, you need to heal, and Avery, I imagine you need some time to recover from today’s events, as well.

“Yeah, I do,” I agree. “Actually, I was thinking I would go home, if you think it’s safe enough. I kinda just want things to feel normal, you know?’

Graves nods.

‘’That will not be a problem,’ he says. “As I said, no witch will challenge us right now. You can rest easy.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” I say. Before I can get out a goodbye, though, Nacht suddenly squirms out of Graves’s arms.

“Hey, let me come with ya,” he says 

“Uhhh, really?” I ask. Didn’t they just say they couldn’t be apart from each other? I mean, obviously they didn’t mean it literally, but…

“I got some stuff I gotta do at your place,” he says. “So c’m’over here and pick me up. I ain’t gonna try jumpin’.”

“Yeah, fine” I say, walking over to the edge of Graves’s bed. Carefully, I pick him up and let him crawl safely onto my shoulders. “What kind of stuff?”

“Stuff stuff,” Nacht replies dismissively. 

Well, that’s not vague or anything.

“Graves, you better be ready for me the next time ya see me,” Nacht continues. “‘Cause you ain’t gettin’ rid’a me ever again.”

“I truly do not want to get rid of you ever again,” Graves says, siling slightly. “Come home soon, Nacht.”

Nacht purrs loudly all the way back to the apartment, and I pretend to find it insufferable.

My smile probably isn’t helping me fool anyone, though.

“See, I knew being honest with him would go a long way,” I say as I gently set Nacht down on my couch. “I’m happy for you. And frankly, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t happy that you’re getting out of here. I think I’m kind of going to miss you being around, but more importantly, I can finally do things with my friends without you!”

“I was gettin’ tired’a bein’ stuck like glue t’you, too,” Nacht says with a purr. “Don’t worry, kitten, I’ll still grace ya with my presence at the café.”

“Ugh, I still can’t believe you’re _good_ at being a cat,” I say, rolling my eyes. “And speaking of being a cat, I don’t know what kind of important stuff you had to come all the way back here for, but do you need my help for it? Because if not, I’d actually like to just eat and go to bed—’

“I do need ya for it, actually,” Nacht says to my surprise. “It ain’t gonna take too long. C’mere for a second.”

“Uh, okay,” I agree, plopping myself down on the cushion next to him. “This isn’t going to be anything Graves would disapprove of, is it?”

“Nah,” Nacht says, shaking his head. “He’d be happy I’m teachin’ ya somethin’, prob’ly.”

“You’re going to teach me something?” I ask incredulously. “Right now?”

“Yeah. You ain’t got no idea about how witches Give each other stuff, do ya?” Nacht says. “You were lookin’ mighty confused when Graves ‘n’ I were talkin’, so I guessed ya didn’t.”

“Oh, you mean like… if you kill another witch, you get their property,” I say, thinking back to the time Graves mentioned something like that. “That kind of thing, right?”

“That’s what happens if ya don’t Give your stuff t’someone before ya get yourself killed,” Nacht says. “It’s real easy and just good sense t’Give your property t’someone else if ya know you’re about t’do somethin’ risky, but most witches don’t think that far ahead,” he explains. “And besides, sometimes you wanna transfer property without anyone dyin’. So that’s what Givin’s for.”

“Okay… That makes sense…” I say.

“All ya gotta do,” Nacht says, placing a paw on my hand, “is say somethin’ like ‘Avery, I Give ya everything,” and everything ya have’ll just transfer over.”

I look down at the light golden bubbles rising up from where my hand meets Nacht’s paw. Is he… Is he Giving me all of his magical property? I don’t even fully understand what that means, and in any case, I’m not sure if I want it. But it’s something that I’ll have to consider later, because Nacht isn’t done.

“But that’s just for property. Ya don’t lose your own magic, ‘cause it don’t wanna part with ya.” He takes his paw off of me. “If ya wanna get rid’a your own magic, ya gotta talk to it. For example…”

He raises his paw in the air.

“Rust,” Nacht says firmly. “I Give you Up.”

The bubbles that come out are rust brown and as sticky as tar, but nevertheless, they rise out of Nacht’s paw and into the air until they disappear.

And then I sneeze.

When I open my eyes again, the cat sitting next to me has been replaced with a man.

“Well, damn,” Nacht says, looking down at his hands in confusion. “That ain’t a normal part’a that ritual.”

“You broke the curse, stupid,” I say, covering an excited laugh with my hands.

“So I Gave Up my rust magic, and that did it…” Nacht says. He raises his hands exasperatedly. “I was never gonna just _figure that out._ ”

“That was the point, though,” I say, laughing again. “You had to want to get rid of it on your own. And, uh… honestly, why _did_ you? Didn’t you being rust-proof kind of save your life today?”

Nacht shakes his head.

“It’s ‘cause, uh… I ain’t got a problem with killin’ folks,” he says. “I saw that kid grabbin’ at Graves, and I was so mad that I wanted t’rust up the whole damn city. And if somethin’ had actually happened t’Graves, if it made his magic release me, then I know I _would’a._ ”

“That would be pretty awful,” I say, frowning. “We would all be dead. Including you.”

Nacht nods.

“If I die from the rust, it’d be like Graves helpin’ me didn’t even matter,” he says. “I… didn’t like thinkin’ like that.”

“And so you removed the temptation,” I say, finally understanding. “That’s…”

“Embarrassin’,” Nacht grumbles. “I couldn’t sit there and let Graves see me do it. I guess I gotta admit it worked out real great, though.” He raises a hand to his face. “Missed this a lot,” he says, grinning.

“I bet,” I say, rolling my eyes. 

Then, suddenly, a realization occurs to me. 

“You know what this means?” I asks excitedly. “It means you have hands that _you_ can make dinner with! I don’t have to cook for you anymore!”

“I wouldn’t call orderin’ delivery every night ‘cookin,’” Nacht says as he stands up. “But sure, kitten, I’ll make somethin’ for both’a us. If ya got anything edible in your fridge, I mean.”

“Wow, really?” I laugh. “I mean, yes, of course I do!”

We end up eating a kind of shitty dinner, but, well, it was really great considering I did _not_ have as much food in my apartment as I thought.

“You know,” I say as the night stretches on. “I’m surprised the first thing you did wasn’t to call Graves. Don’t you want to go show off to him now?”

“I got a better idea, kitten,” Nacht says with a smirk. “What’d’ya say I walk to work with ya tomorrow. For old time’s sake.”

Ohhh.

“You’re going to get yelled at ,” I say.

And indeed, the café’s immediate response to a human Nacht’s presence _is,_ in fact, to start yelling.

Or, well, it’s _Reese’s_ immediate response, at least. Finley just does a double take. Hayes and Mason are together in the kitchen, and Landry doesn’t say anything, although I do feel a little but of static in the air.

“Surprise,’ I say, waving my hands in mock cheer. “He kind of saved my life, so—”

“What?” Finley gasps. “Sweetheart, what happened?”

“Oh, well, uh…” I mutter sheepishly. “A witch attacked me. You know how it is.”

“There are other witches going around attacking us now?” Reese asks. “How come I didn’t know about this? Avery, what’s going on?”

“Ha… Ha… Maybe it would be better if Graves explained,” I say quickly.

“What do I need to explain?” Graves asks from the top of the stairs. He manages to take a few steps down before his eyes catch Nacht’s figure, and he comes to a halt.

Nacht smirks up at him.

“Hope ya don’t mind a human,” he says. “‘Cause this was an accident, but I’m still stayin’.”

“No, no, of course, I— Nacht, that’s wonderful,” Graves says. He smiles, and, no joke, it’s the kind of expression that gets poetry written about it.

“Oh, fuck,” Nacht mutters. He dashes halfway up the stairs to meet Graves, slamming their mouths together in a desperate kiss.

“What the—” Reese exclaims.

“I feel like I shouldn’t be watching this,” Finley comments, “and yet I can’t look away…”

The kiss goes on for longer than any of us non-participants really like, but eventually Graves and Nacht do pull away from each other.

“Can somebody please just explain why this is happening?” Reese asks.

“tl;dr: Nacht broke his curse with the power of love,” I say. “Well, kind of. And, uhhh, there’s some other details, but I think you might have to wait a little.”

“Y’all better not need him for nothin’ today!” Nacht shouts at us from the top of the stairs. “We’re gonna be a l’il busy!”

“Just… Just follow Reese’s instructions like usual,” Graves says, waving his hand. “Terribly sorry about the, ah, emergency.”

And with that, the two of them retreat to Graves’s apartment.

Well, I hope nobody was expecting to go up there today.

“He knows we know what he’s doing, right?” Landry asks. “He does know that… _right?_ ’

“Ehhh, give him a break,” I say, shrugging. “He’s had to deal with a lot of shit. Besides, we all know what we’re doing, anyway.”

“Yeah, that’s right. We still have jobs to do,” Reese insists. “Finley, Avery, i need you two to get the cats settled in the petting area…’

And so we get to work, just as we usually do.


	15. Hazel

It seems like something should have changed when Nacht moved in with Graves. But for me, at least, it really doesn’t.

Maybe it’s because I’m already used to hanging out with Nacht.

Maybe it’s because I _like_ hanging out with Nacht.

Now that he’s no longer stuck as a cat, he obviously can’t charm the café’s guests with his cute kitty face. Instead, he charms them with welcoming gestures and false smiles.

It’s a little disconcerting to watch him interact with other people. He’s really, really good at it. You’d never know that he really, really doesn’t care.

Honestly, I’m a little surprised he bothers to work at all. It’s not like Graves is making him. But it works out well for me, so I’m not going to discourage him.

The others are starting to warm up to him, too. I mean, I don’t think they’re ever going to really be friends, like he and I are. There’s a certain level of disdain they all hold for him… And Nacht’s uncaring attitude towards them probably doesn’t help.

Still… I don’t think he’s completely indifferent to the other employees.

“I-I’m sorry, sir, but this is the coffee you ordered,” Hayes says apologetically. “I can get you a different… order… maybe…”

“I want you to make this one right!” an angry customer insists, pointing at the cup on his table. “This one’s too fucking bitter, dipshit!”

“W-Well, that’s because you ordered it… black…” Hayes trails off. 

I’m about to go kick this customer out of the place for harassment, but before I can make it over there, Nacht practically shoves Hayes out of the way.

“Ya got a problem here?” he asks, narrowing his eyes dangerously.

Angry Customer puffs out his chest.

“You the manager here?” he asks. “Then tell your staff to make my fucking drink!”

“You got a problem with this one?” Nacht gestures towards the cup. “Maybe you better try it again!”

I watch, wide-eyed, as the perfectly stable coffee _jumps out_ of its container to hit Angry Customer in the face.

Angry Customer splutters furiously.

“Great, ain’t it?” Nacht growls. “It’s on the house. Now get the _hell_ out’a here before I give ya the chef’s special, too.” He cracks his knuckles for good measure.

Look, I know Angry Customer’s type… and I’ve never seen one of them flee so fast.

Hayes squeaks out a thank you before heading back to the kitchen. I take a moment between cleaning tables to give Nacht a high-five.

“What was that trick with the coffee, though,” I ask quietly. “I thought you were, uh… gifted… with paper.”

“Oh, that,” Nacht says, grinning. “Turns out I got myself another knack. It’s acid.” He laughs. “And you wanna know what the real kicker is? I only noticed it when I was usin’ some vinegar to clean up _rust._ ”

I have to snort at that.

‘“Congrats on your new knack,” I say. “If you ever want to come practice with me, you know where I live. That abandoned storm shelter’s still there.”

“Yeah? You and your girlfriend keepin’ up your trainin’ now that I ain’t there tellin’ ya what t’do?” Nacht asks.

“Oh, yeah,” I agree. “We’re totally going to be superheroes. I’m already working on my catchphrase. How does ‘You messed with the wrong dumpster!’ sound?”

“Awful,” Nacht says, rolling his eyes. “Better keep workin’ on it.”

A glance from Reese tells me that I had better keep working, period. I give Nacht a nod as I leave, then quickly scurry off to check on the customers’ orders.

“Hey, Avery, switch roles with me,” Finley says as soon as she sees me walk into the kitchen. “Please? Mason needs somebody to make a few trips down to the basement.”

“I see. And you immediately thought of me,” I say, laughing.

“Sweetheart, you are the _only_ one of us who likes going down there,” Finley says. “So, will you do it? I’ll get your orders, of course.”

“Anything for you, babe,” I agree.

I press a kiss to Finley’s cheek, and she smiles sweetly at me.

It’s times like these that make me appreciate how happy I am. Even though being a witch is sometimes as terrifying as it is cool, I still think stumbling across A Cat’s Paw was the best thing to ever happen to me.

I’ve got Finley. I’ve got great friends. 

My life is pretty darn awesome.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading <3 If you aren't sick of my writing by now, you can find me on tumblr [@eff-supp](http://eff-supp.tumblr.com)


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